The Boston Bruins (35-18-2) visit Manitoba one last time this regular season to take on the Winnipeg Jets (27-26-6) tonight at 8:00 p.m. on NESN.
I promise you there will be absolutely no cheesy puns in this, or the postgame wrapup, about the functioning or malfunctioning of airplanes. It’s such a cliche.
While Boston has been firmly ensconced in second place for months now, Winnipeg is struggling to even make it over the thick line separating eighth and ninth place in the East. Right now they are in tenth, exactly where they were one year ago on Feb. 16 as the Atlanta Thrashers.
In their season series so far, Boston leads 2-1. The first meeting with the newest team, Nov. 26, went well for the Bruins, who won 4-2. Their second one, Dec. 6, wasn’t so hot, perhaps because it was the first time being inside the MTS Center and experiencing the, uh, traditions of Jets fans (e.g. the booing of anyone wearing a captain’s C). Boston lost 2-1. However, back at TD Garden for a Jan. 7 showing, the game was wild and eventful. Both teams were granted a penalty shot–to both men wearing #22, oddly enough–although only Shawn Thornton was successful. Thornton also fought former teammate Mark Stuart as the Bruins took a 5-3 win.
The lines have been shuffled around a little bit to accommodate the inclusion of Josh Hennessy, as reported here earlier. Here are the plans according to John Bishop:
Notice how the one line that is entirely unchanged is the “Bru-Tang Clan” line of Marchand, Bergeron and Seguin. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. This line consistently shows up and does good work even when the rest of the team is lagging. They’ve also tallied points in each of the games versus Winnipeg this season, except the one loss.
Tonight, Tuukka Rask will be in net. He’s faced the Jets twice this season: in the loss and the 5-3 win. I’d look for him to face the Jets’ starter Ondrej Pavelec, though, because Pavelec has played in each of the games against Boston. Backup Chris Mason played last night against Minnesota.
Also keep an eye on Johnny Oduya. A blueliner, his name has come up a few times as a potential trade acquisition the Bruins might want to make before the deadline (ten days!). I remember him from his days playing in Atlanta and he’s pretty solid, so he could be a good addition to the Bs.
If you plan to watch the game, keep the volume low. Like I said, Jets fans are fond of their booing. Recently a fan told my friend Haley, an Islanders fan, that they boo to get the star players off their game, but they do it as a sign of respect. While this violates the actual definition of what booing is and what it is for, that doesn’t seem to faze them, so definitely keep the clicker handy if it gets to be too much.
Tune in to NESN at 8:00 p.m. Eastern.
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