The Boston Bruins will have their first chance of tying the NHL record, 62 wins, when they host the New Jersey Devils tonight at the TD Garden. The Bruins are coming off of a tightly contested 2-1 overtime win over their Atlantic Division rivals, the Toronto Maple Leafs. Charlie Coyle broke Maple Leafs’ goaltender Ilya Samsonov’s shutout bid with 8:28 remaining in the third period to tie the game at one. David Pastrnak continued to chase the 60-goal mark by scoring the overtime winner to seal the victory. Boston is 9-1-0 over the past 10 games, and their opposition tonight has also been rolling. The Devils are 6-3-1 in their last 10, including an 8-1 blowout win over the Columbus Blue Jackets in their last outing. With 108 points on the season, the Devils trail the Carolina Hurricanes by just one point in the Metropolitan Division.
Head-to-Head Matchup
Tonight’s game will be the third and final matchup between the Bruins and Devils this season. Boston skated away with a win in the two previous encounters. The Bruins have outscored the Devils, 7-4, over the two games, although the Devils have outshot them, 71-50. In their last meeting on Dec. 28, the Bruins took a 2-1 lead late into the third period on goals from Trent Frederic and Patrice Bergeron. An empty-net goal from Pavel Zacha clinched Boston’s 3-1 win.
The two teams also met just before the Christmas Break on Dec. 23, with the Bruins scoring four unanswered goals in the second period, en route to a 4-3 win. Pastrnak found the back of the net twice, while Jake Debrusk and Bergeron each added their own goals for the Bruins. The Devils made things interesting with goals from Tomas Tatar and Yegor Sharangovich in the third period, but ultimately came up short in their comeback effort.
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Going back to the 2016-17 season, the Bruins have dominated the head-to-head matchup against the Devils. In their last 25 meetings, the Bruins have a 17-8 record while outscoring the Devils, 73-49, during the span. The Bruins have won the previous five games against the Devils and also have won the last three times the clubs have met at the TD Garden.
Players to Watch
Jack Hughes has had a breakout campaign for the Devils and has grown into the hype surrounding him before being drafted. Hughes has a career-high 42 goals and 53 assists for 95 points in 75 games. In 15 career games against the Bruins, he has scored two goals and seven assists for nine points. He is entering the contest on a five-game point streak with two goals and seven assists. Expect the 21-year-old to have plenty of jump as he tries to hit the 100-point mark for the first time in his career.
Speaking of career years, former Bruins first-round pick Dougie Hamilton has put together the most impressive season of his career. He has scored 21 goals and 52 assists for 73 points in 79 games. Hamilton doesn’t seem to get the media coverage, but the towering 6-foot-6 defenceman could garner Norris Trophy votes this season. However, in 12 career games against the Bruins, he hasn’t put up great numbers against the Bruins with just two goals and two assists.
Timo Meier, the Devils’ key trade deadline addition, hasn’t missed a beat since coming over from the San Jose Sharks. In his last five games, he has scored five goals and added two assists. Meier has 40 goals and 25 assists, marking the first time he’s hit the 40-goal mark in his seven-year career. He has four goals in 10 career games against the Bruins.
Night in and night out, Pastrnak is the man to watch in Boston. With his game-winning goal against the Maple Leafs, he is now up to 57 this season. He remains within reach of becoming just the second Bruins player in franchise history to score 60 goals in a season. He also has a point-per-game average in 22 career games against the Devils, with seven goals and 15 assists. With 14 career hat tricks, the Bruins’ star has proven time and time again that he is capable of a scoring outburst on any given night.
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Bergeron is another player to watch for the Bruins, as the captain has piled up the points against the Devils. In a whopping 60 career games against New Jersey, he has scored 26 goals, and 27 assists for 53 points. However, he has been battling some nagging injuries and has been held off the scoresheet in his last three games. Before his three-game dry spell, Bergeron had three goals and five assists during a five-game point streak from March 18 to March 25.
Brad Marchand is due to bust out of a cold streak of his own, as he has gone pointless in his last five games. The pesky Bruins’ forward also is in the midst of a lengthy goalless streak, having gone 14 games since he last lit the lamp. Through 44 career games against the Devils, he has 15 goals and 22 assists for 37 points. The Bruins will need him to regain his scoring touch in hopes of a lengthy playoff run.
Goaltending Matchup
Linus Ullmark is expected to start tonight for the Bruins. The Vezina Trophy frontrunner is two wins shy of 40 this season. His numbers have been sparkling all season as he leads all NHL goaltenders with a 1.90 goals-against average (GAA) and a .937 save percentage (SV%). In 14 career games against the Devils, he has a 9-4-1 record with a 2.33 GAA and a .927 SV%.
Vitek Vanecek is expected to get the start for the Devils. An offseason free agent signing, Vanecek has been excellent in his first season with the club, posting a 32-11-4 record with a 2.46 GAA and a .910 SV%. He has also posted three shutouts this season.
Injury Status
Bruins’ head coach Jim Montgomery gave some injury updates following practice yesterday. “Krejci is very doubtful, I would say,” Montgomery said when asked about David Krejci’s availability for the weekend. He did have some positive news regarding Charlie McAvoy and Taylor Hall as he said, “McAvoy is to be determined, it’s just how he responds to treatment today to be honest. [Taylor] Hall is getting closer. He hasn’t checked all the boxes, but he’s close. He is a possibility for this weekend.” The Bruins will also be without Nick Foligno and Derek Forbort, although Foligno is practicing in a non-contact jersey, and Forbort has resumed skating on his own.
The Devils enter the contest with only one injury as former Bruins’ forward Curtis Lazar is out with a lower-body injury. Lazar has been sidelined since March 18 and has only played three games with the Devils since being acquired at the trade deadline.
Game Storylines to Watch
The Bruins will be looking to tie the NHL record of 62 wins in a single season. Aside from chasing that record, the team has little to play for, having clinched the Presidents’ Trophy for some time now. They will have their eyes on the out-of-town scoreboards as they await their first-round opponent.
The Devils, on the other hand, are still battling to win the Metropolitan Division. They will be hungry for every point they can get in their final three games. Winning the division and avoiding a tougher first-round matchup against the New York Rangers would benefit the Devils.