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The Blues and Bruins seem to find themselves in odd, fascinating games. It wasn't THAT long ago that we had the MLK Miracle game, and then there was Malcolm Subban's debut game, where a shutout first period was followed by three Blues goals on three consecutive shots to let the Blues ....um... roar back and eventually win 5-1. Who knows what kind of shenanigans tonight's game will have in store.
Touchin' down in New England town
Feel the heat comin' down
You might say that the shenanigans have already started. Due to a considerably late hit on Jiri Tlusty, Bruins forward Max Talbot is going to sit for two games - tonight and Saturday night when they host Buffalo. He's got 1 whole point in 13 games this year, so it shouldn't be too hard to work around that absence.
The Bruins are putting together a good season this year. They got off on a slow start, but have gone on a roll. As described by Ryan Lambert on Puck Daddy,
Over the last month or so they're 11-1-3, and scoring goals at an absurd clip. In those 15 games, they've scored 46 goals (3.07 per) and allowed just 28 (1.87 per). In that time they've narrowed the gap between themselves and their greatest rival to just one point, from the previous 13. And it's a trend we might be able to expect to continue.
Of course, there are reasons for that kind of turnaround. Not only are the Bruins getting goals, they're also keeping them out of their own net. Having someone like Tuukka Rask on your team doesn't hurt. Rask has elevated his save percentage to .918 after a bad start, and that run has put the Bruins in a playoff spot. Not just that, but they're actually within striking distance of the Canadiens for the division lead. Of course it's also helpful to have two damn good centers leading the way. Patrice Bergeron has 32 points in 32 games, 11 goals and 21 assists. Right behind him is David Krejci with 9 goals and 22 assists. There's plenty of bite left in these bears.
I've got to keep on keepin' on
You know the big wheel keeps on spinnin' around
Expect Rask in goal for the Bruins, and stay tuned for the decision for the Blues net. We have the misfortune of catching Boston on the upswing. That, combined with how St Louis managed to make a 3-0 lead disappear in Philly, would certainly lead you to pessimistic expectations. Obviously, shitting the bed on that scale is not a good thing, but it happens, even to good teams. How they bounce back - tonight - is going to be even more telling than last night's facepalm. Also, we get to see the Blues debut of Jordan Caron.
You know you got to go through hell
Before you get to heaven
Further Reading:
Blues vs Bruins coverage
GameDay Twitter Feed:
Tweets from https://twitter.com/CrossCheckRaise/lists/gameday
Final Verse: Another early start, with the puck dropping at 6:00 PM St Louis time. The GDT should drop shortly before then. Stop by and pay us a visit - we promise not to bite (unless you're into that - not judging). The TV broadcast is once again on Fox Sports MW, and the radio call is on KMOX 1120 AM. Enjoy a really good live cut of today's tune:
LGB!!!