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Swine Flu-Free David Krejci Set To Return Tonight!

[Game Preview] Bruins vs. Penguins

Game Seventeen (Live on Versus(HD) or 98.5FM The Sports Hub)
Boston Bruins (7-7-2) vs. Pittsburgh Penguins (12-5-0)
November 10th, 2009 @ 7:00PM

GAMEDAY HEADLINES:

• Tonight is the first of four meetings between the Bruins and defending Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins this season (Boston & Pittsburgh split their season series 2-2 last year).
• Sorry DirectTV folks but tonight's game will be broadcasted on Versus.
• The Penguins have the best record in the Eastern Conference (12-5-0) but have lost two straight games in which they have been outscored 10-2.
• David "Napolean" Krejci joined the B's during practice yesterday and should most likely return to action tonight after missing two-games due to the H1N1 virus.
• Scoring Fluke? The B's/Sabres game was good to see but the Bruins faced an unproven rookie in net. Tonight however will be the real test before we can start talking about the Black & Gold getting their "touch" back.
• 2-PP goals later the Bruins are no longer ranked 30th in the league on the man advantage, jumping all the way up to the 27th spot (unimpressed).
• Michael Ryder missed practice yesterday due to an "illness" so he will most likely remain questionable for tonight.
• Crosby has recorded 0-points in his last four games. Let's hope the Bruins can continue his drought.

MATCHUP STAT BREAKDOWN:

Boston Bruins		Pittsburgh Penguins
7-7-2	Record	12-5-0
16	Points	24
2.25	G/G	2.94
2.44	GA/G	2.59
51.9	Faceoff %	48.9
13.6	Power Play	14.7
81.4	Penalty Kill	81.9
0	+/-	8

CREASE REPORT:

PLAYER	W	L	OTL	GAA	SV%	SO
Boston Bruins
Tim Thomas	4	6	1	2.44	.916	1
Tuukka Rask	3	1	1	2.33	.919	1
Pittsburgh Penguins
Marc-Andre Fleury	10	4	0	2.52	.904	0
Brent Johnson	2	1	0	2.38	.915	0

INJURY REPORT:

PLAYER	POS	INJURY	STATUS
Boston Bruins
Michael Ryder	RW	Illness	Questionable
David Krejci	C	H1N1	Questionable
Milan Lucic	LW	Broken Finger	Out
Marc Savard	C	Broken Foot	Out
Pittsburgh Penguins
Tyler Kennedy	C	Undisclosed	Questionable
Kris Letang	D	Upper Body	Questionable
Sergei Gonchar	D	Wrist	Out
Maxime Talbot	C	Shoulder/Foot	Out
Evheni Malkin	C	Shoulder	Out

[Game Recap] B's Offensive Comes Alive Against Northeast Leaders

VS.

Game Sixteen (Live on NESN(HD) or 98.5FM The Sports Hub)
Boston Bruins (7-7-2) vs. Buffalo Sabres (9-4-1)
November 7th, 2009 @ 7:00PM

(credit: AP Photos)

GAME BOX SCORE:

	1	2	3	F
Boston Bruins	2	2	0	4
Buffalo Sabres	0	1	1	2

GAME HIGHLIGHTS:

• Boston finally found some offense taking down a good Buffalo team.
• Recchi & Chara give the B's a first period 2-0 lead with consecutive powerplay goals.
• Byron Bitz returned to action after missing 3-games to give the B's a 3-0 lead.
• Sturm Face Cometh!: Marco Sturm brought the "Sturm Face" out of exile in the 2nd making the game 4-1 Boston.
• The powerplay drought ended with 2 PP-goals tonight after Boston went on a 0-for-20 scoreless streak recently with the man advantage.
• Tuukka Rask recorded 28-saves in his second straight win for the Black & Gold.
• 9-different Bruins made it on the scoresheet tonight (Begin & Chara both recorded 2-points).
• Redemption Song: Even though he didn't record a point tonight, Dan Paille I think left a lasting impression on his former team tonight with impressive play end-to-end.
• Shawn Thornton once again proved why Boston loves him and dropped the gloves twice tonight.
• Boston matched the total number of goals they have scored over the span of their last 5-games tonight (4).
• Bruins return to action Tuesday @ The Garden against the defending Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins.

GAME RECAP VIDEO:

[Game Preview] Bruins vs. Sabres

Game Sixteen (Live on NESN(HD) or 98.5FM The Sports Hub)
Boston Bruins (6-7-2) vs. Buffalo Sabres (9-3-1)
November 7th, 2009 @ 7:00PM

GAMEDAY HEADLINES:

• Jhonas Enroth looks to get his first start of the year in between the pipes for the Sabres. Enroth posted a 26-23-6 record with a 2.75 GAA for the Portland Pirates last season.
• On the other end of the ice, early signs indicate that Tuukka Rask will get the start for the Bruins. Rask posted a shutout in his last outing, blanking all 19 of the Oilers shots.
• According to ESPNBoston, Milan Lucic expects to be back in action by the November 19th road trip.
• Recent recall Mikko Lehtonen was sent back to Providence yesterday so expect Byron Bitz to return to action tonight. Bitz has missed the last three games with a groin injury.
• Boston is 0-for-20 on the powerplay since their last goal with the man advantage.
• The Bruins have gone 1-0-1 against divisional rivals so far this season.
• This will be the first of six chances for Dan Paille this season to prove to his old team what they have lost.

MATCHUP STAT BREAKDOWN:

Boston Bruins		Buffalo Sabres
6-7-2	Record	9-3-1
14	Points	19
2.13	G/G	2.85
2.47	GA/G	2.23
51.8	Faceoff %	52.1
10.9	Power Play	20.6
78.8	Penalty Kill	81.8
0	+/-	3

PROJECTED LINEUPS:

Boston Bruins
Marco Sturm	Patrice Bergeron	Mark Recchi
Blake Wheeler	Vladimir Sobotka	Michael Ryder
Daniel Paille	Steve Begin	Brad Marchand
Shawn Thornton	Trent Whitfield	Byron Bitz

Zdeno Chara	Derek Morris
Matt Hunwick	Dennis Wideman
Mark Stuart	Andrew Ference

Tuukka Rask

Tim Thomas

CREASE REPORT:

PLAYER	W	L	OTL	GAA	SV%	SO
Boston Bruins
Tim Thomas	4	6	01	2.44	.916	1
Tuukka Rask	2	1	1	2.41	.915	1
Buffalo Sabres
Ryan Miller	9	2	1	1.89	.936	2
Patrick Lalime	0	1	0	4.14	.854	0

INJURY REPORT:

PLAYER	POS	INJURY	STATUS
Boston Bruins
David Krejci	C	H1N1	Out
Milan Lucic	LW	Broken Finger	Out
Marc Savard	C	Broken Foot	Out
Buffalo Sabres
Patrick Lalime	G	Groin	Out
Toni Lydman	D	Groin	Out

GAME PREDICTION(S):
(post your predictions in the comments section)

• 1st Bruins Goal: Patrice Bergeron
• 1st Bruins Assist: Zdeno Chara
• 1st Bruins Penalty: Michael Ryder

Another "Save of the Year" By Thomas?

Last night Thomas made another amazing save to keep the Bruins in a close game only to be let down by his offense again this season. Timmy robbed the Habs Brian Gionta about half way through the 2nd period, keeping the Bruins from going down 2-0 to their rivals at home. This is not the first time this season that Thomas has made a huge save like this during a crucial part of a game only to be let down. Just look at his last four starts for some more examples. This once again proves my point that goaltending is obviously not the problem with this team. Especially when you have one goal in a little over the last nine periods played.

ESPN NHL analyst and former player Matthew Barnaby called this his "save of the year". Thomas even made the nights ESPN Sportscenter Top 10 plays list, coming in at #2 overall for the night.

[Game Recap] Another Night, Another Stolen Point

VS.

Game Fifteen (Live on NESN(HD) or 98.5FM The Sports Hub)
Boston Bruins (6-7-2) vs. Montreal Canadiens (8-8-0)
November 5th, 2009 @ 7:00PM

(credit: AP Photos)

GAME BOX SCORE:

	1	2	3	OT	SO	F
Boston Bruins	0	0	1	0	0	1
Montreal Canadiens	1	0	0	0	1	2

SHOOTOUT RECAP:

Bruins	Blake Wheeler	Save
Canadiens	Mike Cammalleri	Goal
Bruins	Patrice Bergeron	Miss
Canadiens	Scott Gomez	Save
Bruins	Mark Recchi	Save

GAME HIGHLIGHTS:

• The Bruins steal a point but allow the Habs to gain more ground on them in the Northeast.
• The Habs were outshot 43-to-26 but still walked away with the "W".
• Thomas made 25-saves and was solid between the pipes on to have another loss added to his record again.
• Bergeron scored the Bruins lone goal with less than a minute left in the 3rd period tying the game at a goal a piece.
• The refs were horrendous tonight blowing call after call in Montreals favor (but the refs cant also be blamed for the Bruins not being able to score).
• Boston improves to 0-for-18 on the powerplay cementing their status as having the worst man advantage in the league.
• Fromer Bruins Glen Metropolit scored the Habs lone regulation goal, still think we never should have let him go.
• Goal for a Goal: Both Metropolit and Bergeron scored twice tonight only to get their original goals disallowed.
• Bruins return to action Saturday @ The Garden against the Sabres.

GAME RECAP VIDEO:

Reason #108 Why I Love Jack Edwards: His Phil Kessel Impression

Tuukka Rask Signed To A 2-Year Contract Extension

"BOSTON, MA - Boston Bruins General Manager Peter Chiarelli announced today that the club has signed goaltender Tuukka Rask to a two-year contract extension through the 2011-12 season. Chiarelli will be available to the media Thursday night at 6:00 p.m. in the Will McDonough Press Room at the TD Garden, while Rask will be available following Thursday’s game against Montreal in the Bruins locker room.

The 22-year-old Rask has appeared in nine NHL games in his career - all with the Bruins - and has registered a 5-2-2 record, 2.43 Goals Against Average, .917 save percentage and two shutouts. He has played in four games this year for the Bruins and has posted a 2-1-1 record, 2.41 GAA and .920 save percentage. He is coming off a 2-0 shutout win of the Edmonton Oilers in his last start on October 31.

Rask made his NHL debut for the Bruins on November 20, 2007 against the Toronto Maple Leafs and recorded his first NHL victory in that game. He spent the majority of the last two seasons in the American Hockey League with the Providence Bruins where he had a 60-33-6 record and five shutouts in 102 appearances. He opened the season on an NHL roster for the first time in his career this year." -Official Bruins Press Release

Krejci Diagnosed With The H1N1 Virus

"BOSTON, MA - Boston Bruins General Manager Peter Chiarelli announced today that the club’s medical staff has confirmed a diagnosis of H1N1 for David Krejci. Based on Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommendations, Krejci will be isolated from the rest of the team until he is symptom and fever free for 24 hours.

“Like most people, we are taking many precautions to try to prevent our players and staff from contracting the H1N1 virus,” said Chiarelli. “Our medical staff is working with David to get him healthy as soon as possible, and our players and staff will continue to take precautions with hopes of preventing the spread of the virus to others in the organization.”" -Official Bruins Press Release

[Game Preview] Bruins vs. The Canadiens

Game Fifteen (Live on NESN(HD) or 98.5FM The Sports Hub)
Boston Bruins (6-7-1) vs. Montreal Canadiens (7-8-0)
November 5th, 2009 @ 7:00PM

GAMEDAY HEADLINES:

• GM Peter Chiarelli announced today that David Krejci has been diagnosed with the H1N1 virus and will basically be "quarantined" in order not to spread the sickness.
• "The Pattern" ended on Tuesday night when the Bruins lost back-to-back games for the first time this year at the hands of the Detroit Red Wings.
• Tim Thomas shutdown the Habs last season posting an 8-0-1 record with a 1.85 GAA, so look for him to get the nod tonight.
• Congratulations! The Bruins have finally worked their way all the way to the bottom, currently owning the leagues worst powerplay.
• The Habs Roman Hamrlik (23), Hal Gill (21), Scott Gomez (21) and Jaroslav Spacek (21) lead the league in giveaways this season.
• Hal "The Traffic Cone" Gill will not be suiting up tonight due to a foot fracture which ruins many good chants I had prepared for tonight.
• Just to keep in mind the Bruins have posted 0-goals in their last two games, while the Habs have posted 8-goals in their last two.
• Is the Bruins/Habs rivalry just what the Black & Gold needed to finally start to live up to their preseason hype or will tonight just end up being another disappointment.
• If you're going to the game tonight let me know because I will also be in the house...

MATCHUP STAT BREAKDOWN:

Boston Bruins		Montreal Canadiens
6-7-1	Record	7-8-0
13	Points	14
2.21	G/G	2.67
2.57	GA/G	3.33
51.5	Faceoff %	51.5
11.5	Power Play	14.3
78.0	Penalty Kill	75.8
0	+/-	-2

PROJECTED LINEUPS:

Boston Bruins
Marco Sturm	Patrice Bergeron	Mark Recchi
Blake Wheeler	Vladimir Sobotka	Michael Ryder
Mikko Lehtonen	Trent Whifield	Brad Marchand
Daniel Paille	Steve Begin	Shawn Thornton

Zdeno Chara	Derek Morris
Matt Hunwick	Dennis Wideman
Mark Stuart	Andrew Ference

Tim Thomas

Tuukka Rask

CREASE REPORT:

PLAYER	W	L	OTL	GAA	SV%	SO
Boston Bruins
Tim Thomas	4	6	0	2.60	.912	1
Tuukka Rask	2	1	1	2.41	.915	1
Montreal Canadiens
Carey Price	2	6	0	3.64	.883	0
Jaroslav Halak	5	2	0	2.85	.893	0

INJURY REPORT:

PLAYER	POS	INJURY	STATUS
Boston Bruins
David Krejci	C	H1N1 (Flu)	Day-to-Day
Byron Bitz	LW	Undisclosed	Day-to-Day
Milan Lucic	LW	Broken Finger	Out
Marc Savard	C	Broken Foot	Out
Montreal Canadiens
Georges Laraque	RW	Back	Questionable
Matt D'Agostini	RW	Concussion	Questionable
Alex Henry	D	Hand	Out
Andrei Markov	D	Ankle	Out
Ryan O'Byrne	D	Knee	Out
Hal Gill	D	Foot	Out

GAME PREDICTION(S):
(post your predictions in the comments section)

• 1st Bruins Goal: Patrice Bergeron
• 1st Bruins Assist: Zdeno Chara
• 1st Bruins Penalty: Michael Ryder