Boston Bruins take on the New Jersey Devils live on Tuesday night in NHL action at 7:00 PM ET
The New Jersey Devils and the Boston Bruins have been two of the most impressive teams through the early part of the lockout-shortened season, recording zero losses through the first two weeks. Both teams have picked up points in every game this season and will try to do that again on Tuesday at the TD Garden in Boston.
The Bruins have owned the Devils of late, winning eight of the last nine matchups between the two teams. The Bruins are 4-0-1 on the young season and are coming off of a 5-3 win against Carolina on Monday will look to keep their streak alive. David Krejci has started off the season hot and had the game-tying goal against Carolina while Zdeno Chara came through with a goal and two assists.
Boston has done a fantastic job on the power play this season and killed off all six power plays on Monday. The Bruins rank first in the NHL while killing power plays and are the only team in the league to not yet allow a shorthanded goal.
"We're ready to go. We know it's a short season (and) it's really important to get points early in the season," Krejci said. "We're trying to get as (many) points as we can. We've got nine out of (a possible) 10. That's pretty good, but we've got to keep going."
Krejci has been key to the early success of the Bruins, recording points in three straight games and scoring four goals and two assists in the past three games against the Devils. The Bruins have won four games in a row against the Devils and the team has been able to attack goalie Martin Brodeur, beating him three times over that span. According to the Associated Press, Brodeur is 0-5-2 with a 3.38 GAA over his last seven meetings with Boston.
Tuukka Rask is likely to be in front of the net for Boston after backup Anton Khudobin played in Monday's win. Rask has been key to beating the Devils, posting a 1.29 GAA and shutout over the past three matchups.
The Bruins will try their best to attack Brodeur, but he has been stellar in the early part of the season, putting up a 1.69 GAA while starting every game this year. The Devils lost for the first time this season on Sunday, losing to the Canadians 4-3 in overtime.
"Considering we didn't play 60 minutes ... we'll take the point," coach Peter DeBoer said. "And, thank Marty Brodeur."
Patrick Elias has been hot to start the year, putting up five if his six points over the past week. He recorded three points against Montral, while David Calrkson is leading the team in goals with three.
New Jersey has been solid on special teams, ranking fifth in penalty killing percentage. The team is ranked second in goals against and has been scoring nearly three goals per game. The Bruins are ranked in the top 10 in both goals per game and goals against, but has been mediocre on the power play, converting just 14 percent.