Another big game looms
B’s to visit Toronto with plenty on line
It is the biggest game of the year for the Bruins. Again.
The B’s have played plenty of matches already that earned that designation — and no doubt there will be several more by season’s end.
After what had to be a very solemn charter flight home from Edmonton in the early-morning hours Friday, the Bruins got two days off to prepare themselves for tomorrow night’s clash at Toronto’s Air Canada Center against the Maple Leafs, which will be enormously important for a variety of reasons.
First, the B’s need to bounce back from their dismal 7-4 loss to the Oilers in Game 3 of an otherwise successful Canada trip. It might not be stretching the point too much to say that the Bruins made as many mistakes in that game as they had in the previous 15 games under interim coach Bruce Cassidy.
Consider also the simple matter of pride: The B’s have faced Toronto three times this season and lost all three. A season sweep as bleak as 0-4-0 at the hands of the Maple Leafs hasn’t occurred since the Bruins went 0-6-0 in 1924-25 — the first year of the NHL.
The B’s dropped the first two meetings with Toronto by 4-1 scores. And in the most recent encounter, Feb. 4 at the Garden, the Bruins fell behind 4-1 before rallying to tie the game, but a pair of late Maple Leafs goals, including the game-winner by James Van Riemsdyk with 1:18 left, added up to a 6-5 loss.
Since then, however, the B’s have developed into a much different team.
Despite the sloppy, mistake-prone loss to the Oilers — in which the road-weary Bruins may simply have run out of gas — a win tonight gives the B’s a 3-1-0 trip, which, in the homestretch of a playoff race, would be tremendous.
There also remains the enormous implications in the Eastern Conference, which figures to be in flux through Game 82 on April 8.
In third place in the Atlantic Division heading into yesterday’s league slate, the Bruins had a little breathing room, with a five-point lead over Tampa Bay (before the Lightning played the Washington Capitals). But that lead can evaporate mighty quickly if the B’s slip into even a minor losing streak, and the Lightning will be at the Garden on Thursday night.
Hard-core cynics may recall the events of last March/ April, when the Bruins managed a 3-8-1 record in their final dozen games and missed the playoffs by one point. This team has a very different feel about it. But that feeling can change quickly, if the team lets it happen.
There is also the Maple Leafs’ perspective to consider. Coach Mike Babcock’s much-improved squad was clinging to the No. 2 wild card berth by a single point in the East before taking on the West-best Chicago Blackhawks last night in Toronto.
Bruins notes
It’s a great time of year for Bruins fans to measure team prospects who could be turning pro in the coming days and weeks.
The biggest name is Boston University defenseman Charlie McEvoy, a first-round draft pick last year (No. 14 overall). McEvoy’s Terriers were upset by Boston College in the Hockey East semifinals but are a lock to earn an NCAA tournament berth. Once the NCAA tourney is done, the 19-year-old is likely to sign with the B’s and maybe get in one or more NHL games in the final weeks.
McEvoy’s BU teammate, 20-year-old Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson, a second-round pick in 2015 (No. 45 overall) is also reported by scout
Kirk Luedeke to be set to turn pro, although most observers feel the strong twoway center would be better off staying at the college level for one more season. Notre Dame left winger
Anders Bjork, a fifth-rounder in 2014 (No. 146 overall) is also reportedly ready to sign after posting 19 goals and 28 assists in 36 games this season. The 20-yearold joined McEvoy as a Hockey East first-team AllStar.