The Bruins are looking to extend their 12-game points-streak and grab first place rights in the Northeast Division.
View full sizeBoston Bruins netminder Tim Thomas is slated to make his 16th start of the season as he comes in with a 11-4 record.Bruins (14-7-1) at Toronto (14-8-2)
Bruins' last 5: 4-0-1
Toronto's last 5: 4-1
Game time: 7 p.m.
TV: NESN
Radio stream: 98.5 The Sports Hub
This is the third of six meetings between the Northeast Division rivals as the Bruins have won the first two, 6-2 and 7-0. Wednesday is the first of a crucial home-and-home series matchup as Toronto is ahead of Boston by a single point. The teams meet again Saturday at TD Garden.
Boston broke out with a then season-high six goals on Oct. 20 at TD Garden - all different scorers - with Nathan Horton (power play) Zdeno Chara (PPG), Chris Kelly, Milan Lucic, Patrice Bergeron, and Tyler Seguin finding the back of the net.
Tim Thomas finished with 26 saves as Boston outshot Toronto 43-28.
In their next meeting at the Air Canada Centre Seguin notched his first NHL career hat trick with goals against both Toronto goalies, Jonas Gustavsson and Ben Scrivens. Thomas stopped 25 shots for his first shutout of the season as the Bruins won their second straight en route to a 10-game winning streak. Detroit ended Boston's streak last Friday as they dropped 3-2 in a shootout, but kept its points-streak alive.
Thomas was the first goalie off the ice Wednesday morning indicating he'll make his 16th start.
This Bruins’ will get a first look at former prospect Joe Colborne as he is slated to center Toronto’s third line. In five games, Colborne has notched a one goal and three assists. He was the Bruins' first-round pick in 2008 and part of the package, which sent defenseman Tomas Kaberle to Boston.
Here's a possible lineup:
Forwards
Milan Lucic-David Krejci-Nathan Horton
Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-Tyler Seguin
Benoit Pouliot-Chris Kelly-Rich Peverley
Daniel Paille-Gregory Campbell-Shawn Thornton
Defensemen
Zdeno Chara-Johnny Boychuk
Dennis Seidenberg-Joe Corvo
Andrew Ference-Adam McQuaid
Goalies
Tim Thomas
Tuukka Rask
Healthy scratches: Jordan Caron, Steven Kampfer
B's notes: The Bruins are coming off a 4-2 come-from-behind win over the Winnipeg Jets from Saturday. Boston dug itself out of a 2-0 hole after the Jets scored 39 seconds apart in the opening period. Bruins coach Claude Julien called a timeout to regroup and it appeared to work as the B's settled down and started their comeback when Zdeno Chara scored on the power-play late in the period.
Chris Kelly scored twice in the second and Brad Marchand connected with the empty netter to give Boston a points in its 12th consecutive game - which ties its longest stretch of 12 in row (8-0-2-2) Jan. 27-Feb. 21, 2004.
Tim Thomas had 40 saves as he improved to 11-4 with a 1.86 goals against average and .937 save percentage.
Kelly has been on a goals tear as he trails Seguin for the team lead in goals with nine and also ranks second in plus/minus with a +15. Chara has three goals in his last five games while Rich Peverley has four assists in his last five - including two against the Jets.
Maple Leafs' notes: The Maple Leafs are coming off a 5-2 win over Anaheim Sunday and are on a three-game winning streak.
Tyler Bozak netted a pair of goals while Clarke MacArthur, Joey Crabb, and Luke Schenn had the other scores. Jonas Gustavsson finished with 26 saves as he raised his record to 8-4 with a 3.06 goals against average and .901 save percentage.
Ex-Bruin Phil Kessel leads the league with 16 goals and 31 points, but has had little luck against Boston with only two goals in 14 games.
Other notes: The Bruins are on the brink of ending the month of November without a regulation loss, which could be the franchise’s first month since January of 1969.
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