Bruins at Devils
The Boston Bruins can move into first place in the Northeast Division if they continue their dominance over the New Jersey Devils. The Bruins vie for their 11th win in 12 outings versus the Devils when the Eastern Conference foes meet in the Garden State on Wednesday. Brad Marchand scored twice on Monday as Boston breezed to its fourth win in five outings, a 6-2 triumph over Carolina.
While the Bruins sit just one point behind first-place Montreal in the Northeast, New Jersey is winless in its last seven (0-3-4) and sits two points behind the eighth-place New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference. A lack of offense is primarily to blame for the Devils' troubles. They have scored just 12 goals in the seven-game span - and six in the past five contests.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, TSN2
ABOUT THE BRUINS (25-9-4): Tuukka Rask added to New Jersey's issues by turning aside all 40 shots he faced in a 1-0 victory on Thursday. The Finn, who also made 25 saves in a 2-1 win over the Devils on Jan. 29, owns a 3-1-2 mark with a pair of shutouts and a slim 1.01 goals-against average versus New Jersey. Jaromir Jagr was credited with the lone goal in the latest victory over the Devils. The veteran, who added a pair of assists against Carolina, has three points in as many games since being acquired from Dallas at the trade deadline.
ABOUT THE DEVILS (15-14-10): New Jersey's winless streak coincides with the loss of Ilya Kovalchuk, who has been sidelined with a shoulder injury. The Russian practiced without contact on Tuesday for the first time since he was placed on injured reserve. "We're not going to put his safety in jeopardy," coach Peter DeBoer said of Kovalchuk's possible return. "But, we're not going to wait until he's 100 percent to get him back. That's not realistic."
OVERTIME
1. Marchand, who has a team-leading 16 goals, has just one in 12 career meetings with New Jersey.
2. Future Hall of Famer Martin Brodeur, who stopped 25 shots in his last outing versus the Bruins, has dropped eight straight decisions to the franchise.
3. Boston reached an agreement on a multi-year deal with Swedish F Carl Soderberg, ESPNBoston.com reported on Tuesday. Soderberg recorded 31 goals and 29 assists with Linkoping in the Elitserien.