THIS WEEK’S NEWS, NOTES AND NUMBERS:
TRADE DEADLINE INFO: The NHL’s Trade Deadline is Monday, February 27 at 3:00 p.m. ET. Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli will hold a press conference on Monday, February 27 at 4:00 p.m. in the Will McDonough Press Room at the TD Garden regardless of whether or not the Bruins make any transactions.
I would find it nearly impossible for Chiarelli not to make a trade of some kind. With Both Nathan Horton and Rich Preverley out for the time being, the Bruins need a spark from the forward position.
There has been much speculation and rumors about Tuukka Rask leaving town in favor of a high-end goal scorer. I’m convinced anymore about that taking place. Still, Cam Neely and Chiarelli need to add something to this team heading down the stretch. In addition to a producing forward, B’s management is also looking at the blue line where Boston has struggled of late. Joe Corvo in particular has drawn the rath of B’s fans for inconsistent play.
It will be interesting to see what moves take place !
UPCOMING GAMES: The Bruins will wrap up their six-game road trip with back-to-back games in Buffalo and Ottawa on Friday and Saturday. Following the road games, the B’s will head home for three straight at the TD Garden, beginning on Tuesday, February 28 against the Senators. The two upcoming games against Ottawa will have implications on the Northeast Division standings, as the Bruins currently have a two-point lead over the Sens for the Division lead, although Ottawa has played four more games. The surging New Jersey Devils – who have leapfrogged division rivals Philadelphia and Pittsburgh to move to fourth in the Eastern Conference – will come to town on Thursday, March 1. In their last 10 road games, the Devils are 8-1-1. Next week concludes with a home game against the New York Islanders. The Isles have 58 points which is tied for the fewest in the East. Jack Edwards, Andy Brickley and Naoko Funayama will call all five games next week on NESN while the tandem of Dave Goucher and Bob Beers will handle all radio duties on 98.5 The Sports Hub. Start times for the upcoming games are as follows: 2/24 at BUF, 7:30 p.m. ET 2/25 at OTT, 7:00 p.m. ET 2/28 vs. OTT, 7:00 p.m. ET 3/1 vs. NJD, 7:00 p.m. ET 3/3 vs. NYI, 1:00 p.m. ET
ROAD TRIP AT A GLANCE (THROUGH FIRST FOUR GAMES):
Record: 2-2 Goals For: 10 Goals Against: 11 Most Points: Chris Kelly, 1-3=4
A LOOK AT THE SERIES WITH THE SENS: The Bruins have won the first three (of six) contests against Ottawa so far in 2011-12 and are 7-0-0 in their last seven games versus the Sens overall… The Bruins have also won their last seven road games overall in Ottawa, with their last road loss coming in a 3-2 setback on April 7, 2009.
BRUINS/BLUESHIRTS ON NBC: Looking ahead to next Sunday, the Bruins/Rangers game in New York on Sunday, March 4 will be televised on NBC and will start at 12:30 p.m. ET.
CAMPER, HENNESSY MAKE B’S DEBUTS: Josh Hennessy and Carter Camper both made their Bruins debuts this past week. For Camper, his Bruins debut was also his first career NHL game. Providence’s leading scorer with 38 points in 53 games, the 23-year-old Camper skated 6:21 of ice time on February 22 in St. Louis. Hennessy – a veteran of 21 NHL games – played his first game as a Bruin in Winnipeg on February 17. 114
AND COUNTING: Including the Bruins latest home game the Bruins have now sold out their last 114 home games at the TD Garden, including regular season and playoffs. This sellout streak began more than two years ago on December 5, 2009 against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The last game the Bruins did not have 17,565 in attendance at the Garden was on Wednesday, December 2, 2009 when they hosted the Tampa Bay Lightning (16,553).
TWO STATS YOU MAY FIND INTERESTING… 1. The Bruins will have a two-day break between Saturday and Tuesday’s games against Ottawa. They will have just one more break of that length for the duration of the season (March 20-21), as they will play the final 22 games of their schedule in a 40-day span. 2. The home-and-home series with Ottawa on Saturday and Tuesday is the final of just three home-and-homes on Boston’s schedule this season. The others were also against Northeast Division opponents (MTL 10/27 and 10/29, TOR 11/30 and 12/3).
ALL-STAR FEVER: AHL President and CEO David Andrews announced Feb. 8 that the Providence Bruins and the Dunkin Donuts Center will host the 2013 AHL All-Star Weekend. It’s the third time that Providence has hosted an AHL All-Star event.
BOSTON BRUINS ICE GIRLS: BostonBruins.com launched a revamped version of their Ice Girl homepage that now includes animated bios and video. Fans can check out the new features and this year’s Ice Girl squad on BostonBruins.com.
KEVIN HARRIMAN
