33-10-0 | 66 Points 26-11-5 | 57 Points
What to Watch For: Pens vs. Bruins
Thursday, 04.18.2013 / 4:55 PM / Features
By Michelle Crechiolo
PENGUINS (33-10-0) vs. BRUINS (26-11-5) WHEN: April 20, 2013 - 12:30 p.m. | WHERE: TD Garden WATCH: ROOT SPORTS | LISTEN: Penguins Radio 24/7, 105.9 FM
The Penguins are in Boston to play the Bruins on
Wednesday’s game started with a passionate national anthem and heart-wrenching tributes to the victims and heroes. The Bruins players spoke after the game about how tough it was trying to hold it together through all of that. They also spoke after the game about how upset and disappointed they were not to get the win for the people of Boston. So the Penguins can expect the Bruins to really regain their focus and be an extremely motivated team come Saturday, especially with the events of Friday and as a win over Boston clinches the top seed in the East for Pittsburgh (the magic number is three).
The Bruins may have lost the Jarome Iginla sweepstakes, but still managed to land another future Hall of Famer in former Penguin Jaromir Jagr. And Double J’s still got it at 41 years old. He is tied for first on the team with 33 points and is tied for second with 15 goals. And as Penguins fans have learned over the years since he left the team, Jagr always seems to do well against his former team – with 21 goals and 42 points in 42 career games against Pittsburgh.
The Bruins, winless in their last three games (0-2-1), got two key players back in the lineup on Wednesday after both recovered from concussions. Center Patrice Bergeron returned after missing six games and winger Brad Marchand (who leads the team with 16 goals) was back after missing two. They reunited with usual linemate Tyler Seguin and didn’t seem to miss a beat. They are the Bruins’ best line and the one combination that’s stayed intact throughout the season.
As for the rest of the lineup, that seems to be a fluid mix. Milan Lucic skated on the fifth line in Thursday’s practice and there’s a very good chance he could be a healthy scratch Friday, as coach Claude Julien said Swedish prospect Carl Soderberg – who skated with Chris Kelly and Jagr – is “probable” to play against Pittsburgh. When Julien was asked about the possibility of Lucic being a healthy scratch Friday, he told BostonBruins.com "you saw where he was this morning, and it indicates that he may not play tomorrow. But I haven’t decided that yet." Julien is also rotating his nine defensemen, resting certain players to get looks at other guys. Zdeno Chara, Johnny Boychuk, Dennis Seidenberg, and Dougie Hamilton have played the last two games, while Wade Redden, Matt Bartkowski, Aaron Johnson, Andrew Ference and Adam McQuaid have rotated in and out.
(Getty Images)
These were the lines the Bruins used at Thursday's practice...
Brad Marchand - Patrice Bergeron - Tyler Seguin
Daniel Paille - David Krejci - Nathan Horton
Carl Soderberg - Chris Kelly - Jaromir Jagr
Rich Peverley - Gregory Campbell - Shawn Thornton
Milan Lucic - Kaspars Daugavins - Jay Pandolfo
Zdeno Chara - Dougie Hamilton
Dennis Seidenberg - Johnny Boychuk
Matt Bartkowski - Adam McQuaid
Andrew Ference - Aaron Johnson
BRUINS: JAROMIR JAGR
He’s back! After a short stint with Dallas, the Stars traded Jagr to the Boston Bruins at the trade deadline. This will be the first time the Penguins see Jagr since he wore the orange and black of the enemy Flyers for the 2011-12 season, where the former Penguin scored big goals against Pittsburgh that season. They may see that salute again on Friday, as Jagr is having another big season even at 41 years old. Jagr has six assists in his last four games and has 15 goals and 33 points on the season.
As Penguins fans prepare to see Jagr, Bruins fans are doing the same for Iginla. This will be Iginla’s first game against the Bruins since the team lost out on the Jarome Iginla sweepstakes at the trade deadline, and he’s expecting to hear Bostonians voice their displeasure that he ended up coming to Pittsburgh. The best way to answer that is with his play on the ice. Look for ‘Iggy’ to build off his performance on Wednesday against Montreal, where he scored a goal and assist to become just the 58th player in NHL history to reach the 1,110-point mark.
PENGUINS:
F Sidney Crosby, broken jaw
F Evgeni Malkin, upper body
D Paul Martin, broken bone in hand
F James Neal, concussion
BRUINS:
F Marc Savard, concussion
Penguins look for season sweep of Bruins
Friday, 04.19.2013 / 10:03 PM
Joey Olszewski - NHL.com Staff Writer
PENGUINS (33-10-0) at BRUINS (26-11-5)
TV: NHLN-US; ROOT, NESN
Last 10: Pittsburgh 8-2-0, Boston 5-4-1
Season series: This will be the third and final meeting between the two clubs. The Pittsburgh Penguins are looking to complete a season sweep of the Boston Bruins after winning the first two games, each by one goal.
Big story: The Penguins can clinch the top seed in the Eastern Conference by beating the Bruins, who have had an emotion-filled week after the Boston Marathon tragedy and the subsequent manhunt that closed down the city for most of Friday, necessitating the postponement of the game to Saturday afternoon.
Team Scope:
Penguins: After opening the month with two losses, ending their 15-game win streak, Pittsburgh has won five straight. It seems that the Penguins won the trade deadline lottery with its acquisitions of Brenden Morrow, Jarome Iginla, Jussi Jokinen and Douglas Murray. All four players have not only meshed well with the Penguins' style of play but all have immediately contributed.
Pittsburgh is coming off a 6-4 win over Montreal on Wednesday in which the new faces accounted for six points and some extra grit. Brenden Morrow picked up three of those points (two goals, one assist) and the Gordie Howe hat trick after dropping the gloves with P.K Subban.
"You know when you work hard, good things usually happen." Morrow said of his game. "We're all working hard and we're creating some bounces for ourselves."
The combination of skill and physicality that Pittsburgh brings to the table is necessary in order to beat the Bruins.
Bruins: Even before their city was shut down Friday, necessitating the postponement, the Bruins were already coming off an emotional night at TD Garden on Wednesday. They lost 3-2 to the Buffalo Sabres in a shootout -- but the on-ice action took a back seat to 17,565 people singing the National Anthem and Boston's finest being honored for their bravery at the Boston Marathon.
The positive energy and will of all Bostonians is expected back in full force and the Bruins plan to use it to their advantage.
"That's something that we've talked about, that we need to build on and to carry on the next couple games," center Patrice Bergeron said following practice at Ristuccia Arena on Thursday morning.
Who's hot: Morrow has put up eight points in his past five games for the Penguins.
Injury report: Penguins captain Sidney Crosby (broken jaw) will continue to sit alongside teammates James Neal (concussion) and Paul Martin (hand surgery). Evgeni Malkin is day to day with an upper-body injury but made the trip.
