Bruins at Devils
With their overall winning streak now a thing of the past, the Boston Bruins look to continue their road dominance when they visit the New Jersey Devils on Sunday. Boston had its string of overall wins snapped at four with Saturday's 4-2 loss to Buffalo but is riding a six-game road winning streak and is 10-0-2 away from home since falling at Nashville on Dec. 4.
Brad Marchand leads the Bruins in scoring (52 points) and carries a six-game point streak during which he has collected three goals and eight assists into Sunday's contest. Boston is five points behind first-place Tampa Bay in the Atlantic Division while New Jersey dropped out of third place in the Metropolitan and into the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference after suffering a 6-1 setback at Columbus on Saturday. Kyle Palmieri scored with 3:34 remaining in the third period to prevent a shutout as the Devils' losing streak reached three games. Taylor Hall tops New Jersey with 54 points but was kept off the scoresheet Saturday, ending a 12-game streak during which he collected eight goals and 10 assists.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, NESN (Boston), MSG Plus 2 (New Jersey)
ABOUT THE BRUINS (33-12-8): Noel Acciari could be back in the lineup Sunday after missing the last seven games with a lower-body injury. The 26-year-old center has scored six of his eight career goals this season but was kept off the scoresheet in six straight contests prior to getting hurt. Ryan Spooner netted a tally Saturday but remains one assist shy of 100 for his career while Tuukka Rask suffered his first regulation loss since Nov. 26, ending a 19-0-2 run.
ABOUT THE DEVILS (27-19-8): Palmieri's goal against the Blue Jackets was his 12th of the season and fourth in his last six games. The 27-year-old right wing now has recorded 111 tallies and 111 assists over 395 contests during his NHL career. New Jersey will need to clamp down defensively against the Bruins as Saturday marked the second time this season it allowed 50 shots, with the first occurrence coming on Oct. 11 at Toronto.
OVERTIME
1. Marchand has landed on the scoresheet in 10 of his last 11 games, recording seven multi-point performances in that span.
2. New Jersey rookie C Nico Hischier is one goal away from becoming the seventh member of the team to reach double digits but is mired in a four-game point drought.
3. Boston C Patrice Bergeron has registered 14 goals and nine assists over his last 17 contests, failing to notch a point only three times in that stretch.