Flyers at Bruins
The Boston Bruins had their breath momentarily taken away as 2014 Vezina Trophy winner Tuukka Rask was left sprawled on the ice after a slap shot caught him flush in the mask. The Bruins breathed a sigh of relief after Rask shook off the cobwebs and reported to practice the following day, and the goaltender expects to be in the lineup on Saturday afternoon to face the visiting Philadelphia Flyers.
The unquestioned MVP of the team this season and a first-time All-Star, Rask has been in net for 21 of Boston's 22 victories and posted a league high-tying five shutouts, a stingy 1.95 goals-against average and .926 save percentage. The 29-year-old Finn was saddled with the Bruins' fourth loss in six outings in Thursday's 2-1 setback to Nashville, despite leaving midway into the first period. Rask has flustered the Flyers throughout his career but fell to 10-2-3 against the club after Philadelphia posted a 3-2 shootout victory at the Wells Fargo Center on Nov. 29. Captain Claude Giroux scored in that contest and celebrated his 29th birthday on Thursday with an assist as well as the lone tally in the shootout as the Flyers posted just their second win in nine games with a 5-4 victory over Vancouver.
TV: 1 p.m. ET, NHL Network, SN, CSN Philadelphia, NESN (Boston)
ABOUT THE FLYERS (22-16-6): Although Steve Mason stole the show with 45 saves in his first encounter with Boston, the workhorse goaltender is expected to give way to Michal Neuvirth for Saturday's matinee tilt. Neuvirth turned aside all 14 shots he faced in relief of Mason on Thursday and denied all three attempts in the bonus format to improve to 6-2-0 on the season. "At the end of the day I just have to be better," said the 28-year-old Mason, who is 14-14-6 this season. "I am struggling right now and have to find ways to get back. Overall, I am just not happy with where the game is at right now. I have to find ways to work through this and like I said, to get back to where I normally can be."
ABOUT THE BRUINS (22-18-5): Defenseman Torey Krug scored for the second straight contest on Thursday and third time this season to increase his point total to 12 (two goals, 10 assists) in his last 11 games. The 25-year-old, who had two assists in the first meeting with Philadelphia, has a team fourth-best 26 points to provide a much-needed jolt for Boston's 24th-ranked offense (2.4 goals per game). Krug resides just one point behind David Krejci, who scored in the first encounter with the Flyers for his 30th point (six goals, 24 assists) in 29 career meetings.
OVERTIME
1. Philadelphia has scored five power-play goals in the last six games after going 1-for-21 with the man advantage in its previous eight.
2. Bruins All-Star LW Brad Marchand (team-leading 38 points), who scored in the first meeting with the Flyers, has five goals and two assists in his last five contests.
3. Philadelphia on Friday waived veteran F Boyd Gordon, who scored just one goal in 13 games after signing a one-year, $950,000 deal in the opening day of free agency.