The Boston Bruins will close a back-to-back set Thursday night when they host the struggling New Jersey Devils at TD Garden for the second time this season.
The B’s earned a 3-2 overtime win against the first-place Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday night, with veteran forwards Patrice Bergeron (two goals) and Milan Lucic (two assists) leading the charge. The victory snapped a three-game losing skid for Boston, although it has taken points in each of the last five games (2-0-3).
The next challenge for the Bruins is playing well in the second game of a back-to-back, a situation Boston is 1-5-1 in this season. Luckily for the Bruins, they are playing a Devils team that has lost 10 of its last 14 games and is using three coaches after firing bench boss Pete DeBoer on Dec. 26.
Here’s a quick preview of Thursday’s game.
TV, Radio Information: NESN and 98.5 The Sports Hub
Season Series: Boston 1-0-0 (Bruins won 4-2 on Nov. 10)
Record: Boston (20-15-6, fourth in Atlantic), New Jersey (15-20-7, seventh in Metropolitan)
Bruins Player To Watch: Rookie forward David Pastrnak played well for the Czech Republic at the 2015 World Junior Championship with seven points in five games and leads the Providence Bruins (AHL) in scoring with 24 points in 27 games. He was recalled to Boston on Tuesday and is expected to enter the B’s lineup against the Devils.
Pastrnak likely will play a top-six role, possibly alongside David Krejci on Boston’s top line. As a player with great speed who’s also willing to shoot often, Pastrnak is the perfect type of right winger for an elite playmaker such as Krejci.
The Bruins have been searching for a first-line right winger ever since Jarome Iginla left in free agency over the summer, and Pastrnak should be the latest player auditioned for this spot. That said, he can only play in four more games before the Bruins must decide to burn the first year of his entry-level contract or send him back to the AHL for the remainder of the campaign.
Devils Player To Watch: Jaromir Jagr became the oldest NHL player (age 42) to record a hat trick last week against the Philadelphia Flyers, and he has five points (four goals, one assists) in his last five games. He also leads the Devils in scoring with 25 points (nine goals, 16 assists) through 41 games. Jagr scored against his former Bruins teammates when these teams met in Boston on Nov. 10.
Key Stat For Bruins: Boston ranks fourth in the league with a 53.2 faceoff percentage. Patrice Bergeron (59.2), David Krejci (54.3) and Gregory Campbell (53.4) lead the Bruins in FO percentage among forwards who’ve taken 300-plus draws.
Bergeron led the way in Wednesday’s win with a 20-for-30 mark on draws, including 7-for-8 on special teams. The Devils rank 25th in faceoffs with a 47.9 win percentage, so expect the B’s to dominate this area of the game Thursday.
Key Stat For Devils: The Devils are not a good third-period team. They have given up 44 goals in the final period (sixth-most in the league) and own a third-period goal differential of minus-16. New Jersey is 2-16-1 when trailing after two periods.
Thumbnail photo via Winslow Townson/USA TODAY Sports Images
