The New York Islanders will be in Boston to take on the Bruins at the TD Garden this evening. Boston is coming off of a 1-0 victory over the Los Angeles Kings at home on Saturday. Tuukka Rask recorded the shutout while Jimmy Hayes netted the lone goal.
On the other side, the Islanders have not been producing wins this season like they have the past few years. They are currently on a 5-game losing streak and hold down the last spot in the Eastern Conference standings.
The big story line heading into this matchup is the return of former Bruin Dennis Seidenberg to the Garden. This will be the first time Seidenberg has faced his former team since his contract was bought out in the offseason. Johnny Boychuk will also be facing his former team tonight.
Some fans are still extremely upset about the Boychuk trade. Many feel Boychuk should still be in a Boston jersey. Expect the cheers from the crowd to be thunderous for the two former players.
New York Islanders at Boston Bruins
TD Garden-7:00 p.m. E.S.T
Broadcast Channels-NESN, SN, MSG+2, 98.5 The Sports Hub
2016-17 Season Series: First Meeting of the Season
New York Islanders-11-14-6- 28 Points
Road Record: 2-7-2
Hot Players: John Tavares, Brock Nelson
Key Injuries: Mikahail Grabovski, Adam Pelech, Casey Cizikas
Projected Lines:
Forwards
Anders Lee-John Tavares-Josh Bailey
Shane Prince-Brock Nelson-Anthony Beauvillier
Nikolay Kulemin-Ryan Strome-Cal Clutterbuck
Andrew Ladd-Alan Quine-Jason Chimera
Defense
Nick Leddy-Travis Harmonic
Thomas Hickey-Johnny Boychuk
Calvin de Haan-Dennis Seidenberg
Goaltender
Thomas Greiss
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Boston Bruins-17-13-3- 37 Points
Home Record: 8-8-0
Hot Players: Brad Marchand, Tuukka Rask
Key Injuries: David Pastrnak, Matt Beleskey, John-Michael Liles
Projected Lines:
Forwards
Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-Riley Nash
Tim Schaller-David Krejci-David Backes
Ryan Spooner-Austin Czarnik-Noel Acciari
Anton Blidh-Dominic Moore-Jimmy Hayes
Defense
Zdeno Chara-Brandon Carlo
Torey Krug-Adam Mcquaid
Kevan Miller-Colin Miller
Goaltender
Tuukka Rask
Game Notes
[miptheme_dropcap style=”normal” color=”#222222″ background=””]1)[/miptheme_dropcap] Johnny Boychuk and Dennis Seidenberg will be back at the TD Garden to take on their former team. David Pastrnak, the Bruins’ leading goal scorer will miss his second game in a row tonight.
[miptheme_dropcap style=”normal” color=”#222222″ background=””]2)[/miptheme_dropcap] Frank Vatrano was called up for the home team, but it appears he will not be making his season debut tonight.
[miptheme_dropcap style=”normal” color=”#222222″ background=””]3)[/miptheme_dropcap] In the previous 161 meetings between these two clubs, Boston has amassed a 83-52-21-4 record.
This matchup presents the Bruins with an excellent opportunity to start a winning streak in their final home game of a three-game stint. The Islanders have struggled to keep pucks out of their net and to put pucks in the opposing teams net. If the Bruins can play solid defense and manage to score a few goals on Thomas Greiss they should be able to walk out victorious.
