Maple Leafs at Bruins
THE STORY: After righting the ship with a win on Saturday
afternoon, the Boston Bruins remained afloat atop the Northeast Division
following Toronto's victory over the Ottawa Senators later that
evening. With no good deed going unpunished, the Bruins will look to
show the visiting Maple Leafs their gratitude on Monday when they
attempt to complete a season sweep. Toronto has won two in a row after
dropping 15 of its previous 17 contests.
TV: 7 p.m., RS Ontario (Maple Leafs), NESN (Bruins)
ABOUT THE MAPLE LEAFS (32-32-8): Sitting six points behind
eighth-place Washington, Toronto has little room for error as it wraps
up its five-game road trip. Unfortunately for the Maple Leafs, "error"
is all they've seen to muster this season versus the Bruins. Toronto has
been outscored 28-10 and is in danger of being swept by its Original
Six rival for the first time since 1991-92. Former Bruin Phil Kessel,
who netted his team-leading 35th goal in a 3-1 victory over Ottawa,
needs one more to match his career high. The All-Star has one goal and
two assists in five games versus Boston.
ABOUT THE BRUINS (41-27-3):
Boston squandered an early two-goal lead but rallied for a 3-2 shootout
victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday. The triumph snapped a
four-game skid for coach Claude Julien's club, which failed on both
power-play attempts and dropped to 2 for 29 in its last 11 games.
Goaltender Tim Thomas continues to be a workhorse by playing in 12
straight contests. The reigning Vezina Trophy winner is expected to be
back in goal versus Toronto, against which he is 19-6-5 in his career.
OVERTIME:
1. Toronto goaltender James Reimer saw his bid for
shutouts go by the boards in the waning moments of each his last two
games. Reimer, who turned 24 on Thursday, was in net for only one of his
team's five losses versus Boston (4-1 on Dec. 3).
2. Boston
center Patrice Bergeron, who is mired in an 11-game goalless slide, has
one goal and five assists versus Toronto this season.