- Boston.com reports that the Bruins are letting Patrice Bergeron have a week of R&R before making any decisions about a timetable for his return.
The article optimistically suggests that Bergy might be back in mid-January but... here it comes... also floats the idea of shutting him down for the long-term and using the cap space to sign Brendan Shanahan. Thus proving that there is indeed an esoteric rule requiring the press corps to always have a will-they-sign-this-free-agent-veteran storyline on queue.
- The Devils still have this reputation as a lull-you-to-sleep trapping team, which is odd considering they are 6th in the conference in both offense and defense. That's just good, well-rounded hockey. They play a solid all-around game and will definitely pose a test for the Bruins after a pretty soft schedule so far this month.
- The only other good team the Bruins have played lately were the Caps, which also accounts for their only loss in 11 games.
- Patrik Elias was the NHL's third star of the week, with 3-5-8 in 4 games. Perhaps more significantly, he and David Krecji of the Bruins were both nominated for NHL.com's "Fan Fav" award this week. I don't think that one comes with a salary bonus.
- The Devils are nothing special at home, with a record of 11-5-1. Perhaps it's got to do with averaging less than 15,000 fans per game -- less than the Lightning, Kings and Panthers.
- Scott "Martin" Clemmensen will start for the Devs. Still no word on a Bruins starter; my heart says Manny but my head says it's Tim-Tom time.
- This is a particularly important road game for the Bruins, who nicely timed their long road trip to include a four-day break for Christmas. A win tonight would make the possibilty of 4 wins in 5 games very realistic.
Other previews:
The Bear Cave
Stanley Cup of Chowder
In Lou We Trust (Devils)
Fire and Ice (Devils)
Beast of the East (Devils, lots of links)
