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  • Game Day Preview: Bruins vs. Coyotes

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    Game Day Preview: Bruins vs. Coyotes

    Chris Chirichiello February 28, 2015
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    The Boston Bruins coughed up a two-goal lead in New Jersey on Friday night, but luckily escaped with a 3-2 overtime win thanks to Ryan Spooner’s first career NHL goal.

    Daniel Paille began the scoring while David Pastrnak added his seventh goal of the year before the Devils tied it up at 2-2. Niklas Svedberg played well enough in this one stopping 29 of 31 shots to give the Black and Gold the two points they desperately needed.

    The Black and Gold will have little time to celebrate as they welcome the Arizona Coyotes to town Saturday night. The B’s won the only meeting between these two teams this season 5-2 behind Brad Marchand’s pair of goals back on December 6th.

    Claude Julien’s team hasn’t fared well on the second night of back-to-backs sporting a 2-6-2 record this season. But, with the Coyotes coming to town, it shouldn’t be a problem.

    The B’s will look to make it two in a row against a Coyotes team that has lost eight in a row and hasn’t played too well on the road.

    [Looking for Bruins-Coyotes tickets for today’s game at TD Garden? Check out last minute prices on TicketMonster]

    Here is your complete Bruins-Coyotes Preview:

    Gametime: 5:30 PM
    Records: Bruins 30-22-9 (69 points)/Coyotes 20-35-7 (47 points)
    TV/Radio: NESN, 98.5 The Sports Hub
    Location: TD Garden

    Bruins’ projected lines:

    Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-Reilly Smith
    Milan Lucic-Ryan Spooner-David Pastrnak
    Daniel Paille-Carl Soderberg-Loui Eriksson
    Jordan Caron-Chris Kelly-Brian Ferlin

    Zdeno Chara-Dougie Hamilton
    Matt Bartkowski-Dennis Seidenberg
    Torey Krug-Adam McQuaid

    Tuukka Rask
    Niklas Svedberg

    Coyotes’ projected lines:

    Lucas Lessio-Antoine Vermette-Shane Doan
    Tobias Rieder-Kyle Chipchura-Sam Gagner
    Martin Erat-Mark Arcobello-David Moss
    Lauri Korpikoski-Joe Vitale-Henrik Samuelsson

    Oliver Ekman-Larsson-Michael Stone
    Keith Yandle-Andrew Campbell
    Brandon Gormley-Connor Murphy

    Mike Smith
    Louis Domingue

    Who to watch for Bruins: David Pastrnak

    The kid has found his confidence again. He was all over the ice in New Jersey Friday night. Not only was he making plays in the offensive zone where he scored and assisted on the game-winner, his defensive play was instrumental in the overtime victory.

    Pastrnak is up to seven goals on the season in 25 games tying Chris Kelly (59 games) and David Krejci (38 games). He already has more points than Gregory Campbell and Daniel Paille.

    His speed and quick shot are weapons the B’s desperately need down the stretch. If the 18 year-old can perform consistently as he did on Friday night, the B’s should hold on to the eighth spot in the Eastern conference.

    Who to watch for Coyotes: Antoine Vermette

    If you have been listening to sports talk or watching any hockey outlet on TV, it will tell you that the Bruins have been linked to Vermette.

    Vermette is the perfect fit for the B’s. The 32 year-old has 13 goals and 22 assists this season, but sports a minus-22. That is most likely in direct correlation with the overall make-up of the Coyotes not his personal performance.

    Like Patrice Bergeron, Vermette is superb on the dot as well something Peter Chiarelli and company would love to have.

    The 55th overall pick in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft hasn’t been producing points lately as he is pointless in his last five games and hasn’t had a goal in six games. Keep an eye on Vermette more as an audition in front of the B’s brass than a threat to go crazy Saturday night.

    Game Day Edge: Don’t take Arizona lightly, take care of business

    The B’s are coming off a nice 3-2 victory on the road while the Coyotes have lost eight games in a row. It’s not for the lack of trying on the Coyotes’ part. They will test you and they will battle you so, it’s not a game you can take lightly.

    While Rask received the night off Friday (illness), it wouldn’t be a bad idea to give him another night off against a struggling Coyotes team. This isn’t taking them lightly, it’s starting a goaltender in Svedberg in a back-to-back situation when his confidence is high.

    The Black and Gold took it to the Coyotes in Arizona in December and the result should be the same on Saturday night.

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