Game Preview: Carolina Hurricanes at Boston Bruins 4-8-13

Carolina Hurricanes at Boston Bruins
Monday, April 8, 2013 - 7:00 pm ET
TD Garden - Boston, MA
TV - Fox Sports Carolinas HD Radio - 99.9 The Fan

SB Nation Bruins Blog: Stanley Cup of Chowder (twitter @cupofchowdah)

Hurricanes Record: 16-19-2 (34 pts.)
Bruins Record: 24-9-4 (52 pts.)

Tonight is the second of three meetings this season between the Bruins and the Hurricanes and is the only meeting in Boston. The two teams met in Raleigh early in the season and the result was a 5-3 Bruins win on January 28th. The teams will face each other again in Raleigh this coming Saturday night, April 13.

Hurricanes Notes

Coming off the 4-1 home loss to the New York Rangers Saturday night, the stats grow more bleak by the minute. Third in the Division. 13th in the Eastern Conference. 26th in the League. Seven straight home losses (tying a franchise record). 1-10-1 in the last 12 games. On the outside of the playoff race. Looking good for a high draft pick in the off-season.

There have been no updates from the team following Saturday's loss. The Canes did not practice Sunday or have media availability before flying to Boston Sunday afternoon.

Recent Charlotte Checkers call-ups Zac Dalpe and Brett Bellemore are presumably with the team in Boston.

Status of other ongoing or recent injuries:
Cam Ward (IR, knee) out indefinitely
Joni Pitkanen (IR, fractured heel) out indefinitely
Justin Faulk (IR, knee) should be close to returning to line-up, status for tonight unknown
Alex Semin (upper body) day-to-day, did not play Saturday, status for tonight unknown (although according to Chuck Kaiton radio interview this morning, he is with the team and 50/50 to be determined after morning skate)

Following tonight's game, the Hurricanes will return to Raleigh for a game against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday night.

Bruins Notes

The Bruins are second in the Northeast Division and fourth in the Eastern Conference. They are coming off a 2-1 loss to the Northeast Division-leading Canadiens in Montreal on Saturday night.

The team practiced on Sunday with new forward lines (per the team website) to compensate for the losses of centers Patrice Bergeron and Chris Kelly:

White: Lucic-Krejci-Horton

Gold: Marchand-Campbell-Jagr

Grey: Paille-Kelly-Seguin, Pandolfo

Merlot: Peverley at center, with Daugavins, Caron, Thornton the wingers

Chris Kelly participated in practice but is not cleared to play by the medical staff. Also absent from the lineup (in addition to Bergeron) is defenseman Adam McQuaid.

Captain Zdeno Chara has nine points (4 goals, 5 assists) in his last nine games against the Hurricanes, but hasn't scored a goal in 12 games (in other words, book it).

In the nets, Tuukka Rask has a 4-0-1 record with two shutouts and a 1.55 GAA in his last five home starts. He is 2-2-0 with a 2.68 GAA in five career games against the Hurricanes. Anton Khudobin has one start against the Hurricanes in the 5-3 win earlier this season. He has won all four of his home starts with a 1.75 GAA.

The Bruins have won seven out of their last eight games on home ice.

The game thread will be ready to roll at 6:30 pm.