Bruins at Penguins
Boston Bruins chief executive officer Charlie Jacobs didn't mince words on Tuesday when he labeled the club's play this season as "unacceptable" while noting that the organization's leadership is in a "state of evaluation." Coming off a Presidents' Trophy-winning 117-point campaign, the Bruins are on the outside looking in at the playoff picture heading into Wednesday's road contest versus the Pittsburgh Penguins. Boston suffered its third straight setback and 13th in 19 games (6-7-6) with a 2-1 shootout loss to cellar-dwelling Carolina on Sunday afternoon.
Although thoroughly in the mix among the Eastern Conference's elite, Pittsburgh isn't setting the world on fire these days - falling to 2-4-1 in its last seven with a 4-1 setback to Montreal on Saturday. Captain Sidney Crosby has recorded five assists in the last two contests while scoring a goal and setting up two others in the Penguins' 3-2 overtime victory over the Bruins on Nov. 24. Evgeni Malkin tallied 32 seconds into the extra session in that game but has been held off the scoresheet in four of his last five contests.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, NBCSN, TVA
ABOUT THE BRUINS (19-15-6): Frustration reared its ugly head during Tuesday's practice as pesky forward Brad Marchand and defenseman Torey Krug scuffled before teammates eventually separated the two. "I don’t think it's a bad thing, and that's why I didn't even react," coach Claude Julien said of the incident. "... They looked at each other and five seconds later, they’re laughing at each other. I think it was for real, but also I don’t think it was that serious." Both Marchand and Krug downplayed the incident, with the latter even saying, "Who knows, maybe this is what our team needs a little bit."
ABOUT THE PENGUINS (24-10-5): Defenseman Paul Martin resumed practicing on Tuesday and intends to play versus Boston after missing eight games with an undisclosed injury. "I feel good, I feel great today," Martin said. "The last three or four days, I haven't had any issues. My focus is on (Wednesday) and with the option of playing if everything checks out well today." David Perron, who was acquired on Friday from Edmonton, scored his new team's lone goal versus the Canadiens and found himself in the slot on the first power-play unit during Tuesday's practice.
OVERTIME
1. Pittsburgh is 15-1-1 when scoring a power-play goal this season and has killed off 19 consecutive short-handed situations at home.
2. Boston recalled LW David Pastrnak from Providence of the American Hockey League on Tuesday. The 18-year-old recorded one goal and six assists for the Czech Republic in the World Junior Championship.
3. The Penguins have scored a league-leading 47 goals in the first period.