Preds at Bruins Preview
Boston, MA – The Boston Bruins have been unsatisfied with their mixed results to start the season, but they’d hardly prefer the kind of consistency the Nashville Predators have shown.
The sputtering Predators try to snap a five-game losing streak Wednesday night when they visit a Bruins team coming off another defeat and dealing with the loss of winger Milan Lucic.
Oddsmakers from online sportsbook SBG Global have made the Bruins –230 money line favorites for Monday’s game against the Predators. Current NHL Public Betting Information shows that 63% of more than 9364 bets for this game have been placed on the Bruins -230.
Boston (3-4-0) had the best record in the Eastern Conference in 2008-09 but has alternated wins and losses this season, a trend it looks to temporarily continue following a 4-1 defeat at Phoenix on Saturday night. The effort was especially disheartening after the team had shown major signs of progress during a 3-0 win at Dallas the previous night.
"Friday night I thought we had a terrific, terrific game in all areas and it was disappointing to see Saturday," general manager Peter Chiarelli told the Bruins’ official Web site. "Work is being done, and we are turning the corner a bit, but in large part (there are things) I don’t see, on a game to game basis. I don’t see the passion that I have seen before so we have to get that back."
That may be more difficult without the hard-nosed Lucic, who had surgery on his broken right index finger Sunday and will likely miss at least a month. The 21-year-old Lucic had 17 goals and 25 assists last season, his second in the NHL.
The Bruins also will be missing Chuck Kobasew after trading the veteran right wing to Minnesota on Sunday. Boston received wingers Craig Weller and Alexander Fallstrom for Kobasew, who had no goals through seven games after scoring 21 last season.
Boston is having problems in net and on the penalty kill.
Reigning Vezina Trophy winner Tim Thomas blanked the Stars with 27 saves Friday but 24 hours later allowed at least four goals for the third time in his five starts. In that loss, the Coyotes went 2 for 4 on the power play as Bruins opponents improved to 10 for 33 (30.3 percent) with the man advantage.
Facing Nashville (2-4-1) could present a good opportunity to rebound, considering the Predators have totaled four goals while dropping their last five games.
Nashville is 1 for 24 on the power play, with the goal coming in the season opener Oct. 3. The team’s six-game drought without a power-play goal matches its longest since the final seven games of the 2002-03 season, when they went 0-5-1 with one tie.
The Predators finally earned their first point since Oct. 8 with a 3-2 shootout loss at Washington on Saturday night – a result owed largely to Dan Ellis’ 33 saves.
Their offense could be further weakened by the absence of captain Jason Arnott, their leading goal scorer both last season and early this fall. Arnott was placed on injured reserve Monday due to an arm problem.
Nashville rookie Colin Wilson hasn’t provided a boost leading up to his return to Boston. The first-round draft pick and former Boston University star – the top scorer on the Terriers’ national championship-winning team last season – has no points in his first four NHL games and his playing time decreased against the Capitals.
The Bruins hope a pair of youngsters will help their cause Wednesday after Vladimir Sobotka and Brad Marchand were recalled from Providence. Sobotka had 10 points and Marchand had six goals in six games for the minor-league club, but they’ll have different roles in Boston.
"It’s not about bringing somebody in that we think is going to help us score goals, it’s bringing some guys in that are going to help us to be a harder team to play against," Bruins coach Claude Julien said.
Posted: 10/21/09 1:57AM ET