Boston Bruins at Minnesota Wild

(15-13-3)             (16-12-1)

Preview: With only three games on the NHL circuit tonight, it’s not a great night to be a hockey fan. With that being said, the most interesting game tonight is the Boston Bruins against the Minnesota Wild. Both teams will head into tonight’s game on the outside looking in as far as the playoffs are concerned, as they are both tenth in their respective conferences. Both teams are playing the second game of a back to back tonight.  Boston lost in a shootout last night in Nashville, while the Wild lost a high scoring affair against the Chicago Blackhawks. This game is important for both teams as they try to gain ground in the  standings, but with the Bruins on a tough road trip this is a must win for game for a team that has dropped seven of their last ten. The Bruins may get the boost they need as David Krejci may return tonight. The center has played in only eleven games this year registering three goals and seven assists. The Wild have a big question mark coming into this one, Who will be in Goal? Both Niklas Backstrom and Darcy Kuemper have come down with an illness, but neither have been ruled out for tonight’s game. The Wild have called up goalie John Curry from Iowa just in case neither Backstrom and Kuemper can play tonight.

Prediction: With both clubs coming off physical games yesterday expect this one to be a little bit sloppy. Both teams will play desperate, but with the uncertainty of who will be in goal for the Wild, I would give the upper hand to the Bruins.

Team Leaders:

Goals:

BOS- Reilly Smith (8)

MIN- Nino Niederreiter (14)

Points:

BOS- Patrice Bergeron (16)

MIN- Ryan Suter (17)

Plus/Minus (+/-)

BOS- Kevan Miller & Brad Marchand (+7)

MIN- Jonas Brodin (+15)