Penguins vs. Bruins Scouting Report

Sunday, 12.04.2011 / 8:00 PM / Features

By Michelle Crechiolo

Pittsburgh Penguins
Overall: 16-7-4-36
Home: 8-1-2-18
Road: 8-6-2-18

WHEN: Dec. 5, 2011 - 7:00 pm | WHERE: CONSOL Energy Center
WATCH: ROOT SPORTS | LISTEN: Penguins 24/7 Radio, 105.9 FM

Boston Bruins
Overall: 16-7-1-33
Home: 10-5-1-21
Road: 6-2-0-12

Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Boston Bruins

SCOUTING REPORT

GAME NOTES

PLAYER PROFILES

Tyler Seguin
	C - #19 12 Goals 12 Assists 24 Points
• Has nine goals and 14 points in his last 14 games, including his first career hat trick on Nov. 5 vs. Toronto where at 19 years and nine months, he became the youngest Bruin to score a hat trick since Sergei Samsonov on Apr. 9, 1998. • Through just 24 games, the sophomore forward has already eclipsed the 11 goals, 11 assists and 24 points he recorded his rookie season through 74 games. • The No. 2 overall pick in the 2010 NHL Draft currently leads the league with a plus-20 rating and has not had a minus game yet this season.

Brad Marchand
	LW - #63 9 Goals 10 Assists 19 Points
• Has six points (3G-3A) in his last seven games with 15 points (7G-8A) his last 14 contests, including a six-game point streak from Nov. 1-15. • Elevated his performance during the team’s Stanley Cup championship run, setting a club rookie record with 11 post-season goals last year while leading all league rookies in playoff goals, assists, points and plus/minus. • The 5’9”, 183 lb. forward hit the 20-goal mark his rookie season with a 21-goal and 41-point campaign in 2010-11, including five shorthanded tallies which tied for third overall in the league in that category.

David Krejci
	C - #46 5 Goals 10 Assists 15 Points
• Led the NHL in playoff scoring in 2011, becoming the first Bruin to do so since Phil Esposito and Bobby Orr shared the post-season scoring title in 1972 – to top it off, his 12 goals were the most ever in one playoff year by a Czech player. • Has picked it up after a slow start to the season, scoring six points (2G-4A) in his last three games while centering wingers Milan Lucic and Nathan Horton on the Bruins’ top line while pacing all Boston forwards in minutes played. • Signed a three-year contract extension worth $5.25 million per year on Nov. 30, with general manager Peter Chiarelli praising the 25-year-old for his talent and on-ice vision.

The top two teams in the Eastern Conference will battle it out Monday when the high-flying Bruins visit Pittsburgh – the Penguins rank No. 1 with 36 points while Boston sits No. 2 with 33 points – and three games in hand.

The defending champion Bruins have shaken off the lingering effects of the Stanley Cup hangover that saw them earn just three wins through their first 10 games and have returned to the form that won them hockey’s highest honor, as they’re currently the hottest team in the NHL.

The Bruins have earned a 13-0-1 record over their last 14 games, their longest point streak since they went unbeaten in 17 games (15-0-2) back in 1983. They did not suffer a regulation defeat during November, their first full calendar month without such a loss since 1969.

The Bruins managed to keep most of their roster intact heading into defense of their crown, and it’s plain to see this year’s team has all the pieces of a championship team: they’re a hardworking club filled with the perfect complement of young talent and experienced veterans. Not only do they boast the NHL’s top-ranked defense, but they also have the league’s second-best offense. With 85 goals scored and 51 allowed, Boston’s plus-34 goal differential is 13 points higher than the next team (Detroit, plus-21).

Goaltender Tim Thomas, last year’s playoff MVP, has been the anchor of the Bruins’ winning ways – being named the NHL’s ‘First Star’ of November for his efforts. The unorthodox goalie enters Monday’s game having won a career-best nine straight starts, with that win streak including a road shutout streak that lasted 234 minutes and 12 seconds.

Another mainstay of the Bruins lineup is five-time All-Star Zdeno Chara, who at 6-foot-9, 255 pounds, is an imposing blend of skill, size and strength and one of the league’s toughest defensemen to play against. The possessor of the NHL’s hardest shot also can chip in offensively, as he has four goals in the last five games.

Right now, it’s Boston’s top line of Milan Lucic, David Krejci and Nathan Horton that’s been starting to heat up as they’ve combined for 13 points in their last two games. But prior to that, Lucic hadn’t scored in eight games; Krejci in nine and Horton had just two tallies in a nine-game span. In addition, Patrice Bergeron has scored only twice in the last 13 games. It’s a testament to the depth of the Bruins’ offense that different players have been stepping up during their streak.

The teenage Tyler Seguin has been the big story, as the 19-year-old leads the Bruins in scoring with 12 goals and 24 points and is tops in the NHL with a plus-20 rating. It’s players like him, fellow sophomore Brad Marchand and Chris Kelly that have been more consistently producing.

Pittsburgh and Boston have recorded the two longest winning streaks in the NHL over the previous two seasons. Last year the Penguins won 12 straight games from Nov. 17-Dec. 11, 2010, while Boston won 10 consecutive games from Nov. 1-23 of this season.

Pittsburgh enters Monday’s game having gone 5-1 in their last six games against Eastern Conference opponents.

The Penguins fired 40 shots on goal against Carolina on Saturday, the fifth time in the last 10 games they have registered 40 or more shots. The Penguins have outshot their opponent in 11 of the last 13 games. In those 13 contests they have gone 8-4-1. They have 35 or more shots in seven of the 13 games.

The Bruins have taken 30-or-more shots in 17 of their 24 games with a 12-4-1 record in those games. They have recorded 40-or-more shots on five occasions (4-0-1).

The Penguins enter tonight’s game having gone unbeaten in their last eight home games (7-0-1). That includes a six-game home winning streak from Oct. 20-Nov. 21, tied for the third-longest such streak in the NHL this season. During their unbeaten streak the Penguins are scoring foes, 31-14 and outshooting them by an average margin of 33.4 to 27.1.

The Penguins have an 8-1-2 home record this season, making them one of just two teams (NY Rangers) with one regulation loss at home this year. Pittsburgh’s .818 home winning percentage ranks second in the NHL behind the Rangers (.833 pct.).

The Bruins have won their last five road games with a 24-6 scoring advantage in those contests and three of the five coming by shutout.

The Bruins have taken points out of their last 14 games at 13-0-1. They have outscored their opponents by a 63-26 margin during their current point streak and their last regulation losses came in home-and-home setbacks to the Canadiens, 2-1 in Boston on Oct. 27 and 4-2 in Montreal on Oct. 29.

The Bruins currently have 20 players on their roster, including 18 who played at least one game with the team in 2010-11. 17 players on Monday’s roster were also in the lineup on June 15, 2011 in Vancouver in game seven of the Stanley Cup Final (includes backup goaltender Tuukka Rask).

INJURY REPORT

2010-11 STAT CHART

D Kris Letang, broken nose
D Ben Lovejoy, broken wrist
D Zbynek Michalek, headache symptoms
D Brian Strait, hyper-extended elbow


G	Neal (14)	Seguin (12)
A	Letang (16)	Bergeron/Chara (13)
PTS	Neal (25)	Seguin (24)
PIM	Asham (33)	Chara (40)
+/-	Dupuis (12)	Seguin (20)
PP	Neal (7)	Three with (3)
SH	Four with (1)	Kelly (2)
W/L	Fleury (14-4-2)	Thomas (12-4-0)
GAA	Fleury (2.11)	Thomas (1.93)
SVP	Fleury (.923)	Thomas (.936)

C Marc Savard, post-concussion symptoms