Game 47 Preview: Bruins@Toronto ROAR

Jan 21, 2009 7:30 PM ET
ET TV: NESN
Radio: WBZ 1030AM
@ Toronto Maple Leafs (17-22-7)
Notes:

• While no-one was looking, the Bruins worked their way up to having the league's 7th-best PK, after starting out the season with the worst.
• The Bruins are hosting a game-watching event at the Hard Rock Cafe at Faniuel Hall, starting at 6:30.  I'll be there, because I'm a sucker for this kind of stuff.
  
• In a recent Maple Leafs practice, the NHL put in nets with different-shaped crossbar and posts.  It's supposed to make more pucks deflect in.
• This is the last game until Tuesday.  There's an exhibition game going on in Canada somewhere, and I guess some of the players on the team will be there for that.  Congrats to them.
• The big news is that Aaron Ward could play tonight.  At least when he does get injured, he comes back quickly.
• Basically, either the Bruins will have lost to two non-playoff teams in a row heading into the break, or we'll all get to call monday's game a fluke on a bad call at the end and move on.  Either way, the reactions will last until they have the skills competition on Saturday night.
• Montreal and Washington both lost last night, so a Win tonight would give the Bruins a 10-point cushion atop the East.

Previous Games:

• Game 7: Bruins 2 TOR 4: Bruins scored twice, then Lucic put Mike Van Ryn through the glass. Then the leafs scored 4 unanswered goals.
  
• Game 13: Bruins 5 TOR 2: Blake Wheeler got a hat trick and some girl threw a bra on the ice.
  
• Game 18: Bruins 3 TOR 2: Tim Thomas saves the day, and the Bruins manage to get a win out of the game.
  
• Game 31: Bruins 8 TOR 5: Tim, Manny, CuJo, and Toskala all took a turn in net in this ridiculous shootout. Sturm set off the scoring 36 seconds in, and now he's out for the season. Dammit.
  

Other Previews:

• Joe Pelletier: Gives us a taste of what game ads looked like in the 1930s.
  
• Here Come the Bruins: "What pre-2004 Red Sox fans were to baseball, Leafs fans are to hockey."
• Double A Hockey: "Blake Wheeler is my new favorite Bruin - I still love Lucic, but after I saw 500 teenage girls with Lucic shirts, and the two annoying ones in front of me couldn't figure out what icing meant, I had enough. Somehow the teenage population hasn't fully caught on to Wheels yet, but I can always go back to PJAX when they do."
• Cameron Frye: "Blake Wheeler, who died and made you Hal Gill?"
• Stanley Cup of Chowder: "My guess is that all the injured guys will stay out of the lineup until after the break and Manny Fernandez will get the start tonight."
• The Bear Cave: "17 members of the Maple Leafs and 16 of the Bruins have all picked up at least one point, meaning 33 players have figured into the scoring."
• Matt Kalman: "it doesn’t take Toe Blake to look at the Bruins’ current line-up and realize that the time for beautiful goals and dazzling odd-man rushes are over until the team returns to some semblance of full health. "
• Local Papers: boston.com | Herald | 
• NESN First Shift: "With the Bruins coming off a shootout loss that they easily could have taken two points from, this is once again a good chance for them to get back on the winning track and gain momentum heading into the All-Star break. "
  
• bruins.nhl.com: Preview | Game Notes (pdf)

Stats:

In the top picture, Thornton scored that goal.

GO BRUINS!