The Bruins have two more games to play before the NHL officially takes its Olympic break. Bruins' defenseman, Zdeno Chara, is starting his break early as he has already left for Sochi in order to carry Slovakia's flag in the opening ceremony tomorrow night. Tonight the rest of the Bruins will be in St. Louis taking on the Blues.
Although the Blues are 5-4-1 in their last ten games, they still have the 3rd highest point total in the Western Conference. Considering they have played less games than every other team in the Western Conference so far, this is rather impressive. With only 55 games under their belt, the Blues have amassed 80 points. The two teams which have more points than the Blues have played 59 games each. With playing 4 additional games, the Blackhawks are only 4 points ahead of the Blues in the Central Division. Anaheim leads the Pacific Division and the Western Conference with 85 points. Having played 55 games themselves, the Bruins have 75 points.
In recent years the Blues have had the Bruins' number as they have won 7 of the last 10 meeting. Of the last 5 meetings, 4 of the games have ended in a shootout. When the Bruins hosted the Blues on November 21st, the result would fit into this trend as the Bruins lost to the Blues via a shootout.
Tonight's net-minders are expected to be Jaroslav Halak (GAA 2.27) and Tuukka Rask (GAA 2.09). The Blues have scored on 23% of their power plays this season. While this is only slightly better than the Bruins 20.8%, the Blues have had 37 more opportunities this season. In my opinion, the key to the Bruins walking away winners tonight and making St. Louis sing the blues is to get the first goal and don't get drawn into any cheap penalties.
In recent years the Blues have had the Bruins' number as they have won 7 of the last 10 meeting. Of the last 5 meetings, 4 of the games have ended in a shootout. When the Bruins hosted the Blues on November 21st, the result would fit into this trend as the Bruins lost to the Blues via a shootout.
Tonight's net-minders are expected to be Jaroslav Halak (GAA 2.27) and Tuukka Rask (GAA 2.09). The Blues have scored on 23% of their power plays this season. While this is only slightly better than the Bruins 20.8%, the Blues have had 37 more opportunities this season. In my opinion, the key to the Bruins walking away winners tonight and making St. Louis sing the blues is to get the first goal and don't get drawn into any cheap penalties.
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