Red Wings at Bruins
A five-game homestand typically provides a strong opportunity for a team to make a move up in the standings, but that's hardly been the case for the Boston Bruins this season. The Bruins have been superb away from home but enter Saturday's matchup against the visiting Detroit Red Wings with only one victory in seven games (1-5-1) at TD Garden.
Boston coughed up an early two-goal lead in a 3-2 setback to visiting Colorado on Thursday to kick off the homestand. “Home ice should be a tough place for the other team to play, and we’re not making it that way right now,” Bruins defenseman Kevan Miller said. “So we’re happy that we’re playing (Saturday) and try and get that taste out of our mouths as soon as we can.” Boston's recent struggles are not restricted to home ice - it has dropped four of five overall while scoring a total of 10 goals in that span. Detroit is encountering similar issues to the Bruins, falling to 4-5-1 at Joe Louis Arena following Friday's 3-2 loss to visiting San Jose in Pavel Datsyuk's season debut.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, NHLN, FSN Detroit, NESN (Boston)
ABOUT THE RED WINGS (8-7-1): Detroit is playing its fifth back-to-back set, and each time the starting netminder in the second leg has been Petr Mrazek, who is coming off his first shutout of the season and sixth career with a 38-save performance in a 1-0 win over Washington on Tuesday. Datsyuk, who underwent surgery in late June to repair ruptured tendons in his right ankle, registered a team-high four shots to help the Red Wings outshoot the Sharks by a 2-to-1 margin (28-14). Detroit failed on both power-play opportunities to fall to 1-for-14 in five games this month.
ABOUT THE BRUINS (7-7-1): Defenseman Dennis Seidenberg, who had been sidelined since undergoing back surgery in September, made his season debut Thursday and logged 15:34 of ice time, blocking a pair of shots and registering six hits. “I was a little nervous in the beginning, but I was very excited to be back and being able to play,” Seidenberg said. “It’s been a long time, but it was OK. Obviously, there is more work to be done, but I think it was a good first step and there’s room to get better, for sure.” Ryan Spooner has scored a power-play goal in back-to-back games for Boston.
OVERTIME
1. The Bruins are a league-best 17-for-50 (34 percent) on the power play, but they own the worst penalty kill at 71.9 percent.
2. Datsyuk has recorded three goals and 14 points in 15 career games versus Boston.
3. The Bruins were 4-1-0 against Detroit last season, winning the last four meetings.