Saturday picks: Bruins will continue to struggle
Welcome to the NHL Daily Picks, where CBSSports.com hockey writers Chris Peters and Adam Gretz share their predictions for select games every day.
Montreal Canadiens at Boston Bruins, 7 p.m. ET
There is always a chance for craziness when the Canadiens and Bruins get together, and the two long-time rivals face off for the first time this season on Saturday night in Boston.
For the Bruins, they’re looking to rebound from a brutal season opening loss against the Winnipeg Jets that saw them get blown out in their own barn by giving up six goals. Their struggles defensively should not be a surprise when you look at the names that are currently making up their blue line: Torey Krug, Adam McQuaid, Joe Morrow, Kevan Miller, Matt Irwin, and Zach Trottman.
That is quite a fall from the defense they were putting on the ice a few years ago when they were playing for the Stanley Cup every other year. But with Johnny Boychuk and Dougie Hamilton now playing elsewhere, and Dennis Seidenberg and Zdeno Chara sidelined with injuries, it’s created a lot of problems in an area that used to be their greatest strength. When you combine that with a team that isn’t very strong offensively it’s not exactly creating a lot of optimism early in the season.
Chara remains day-to-day with an upper body injury and seems to be close to returning, but even when he does come back (even if it’s Saturday) it’s not going to cure all of their problems on defense because they’re not going to be getting the 2010 or 2012 version of Chara back in their lineup.
The Canadiens, meanwhile, were victorious in their opener with a 3-1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs thanks to a pair of goals from Max Pacioretty (one very early in the game on their first shot of the season, and then an empty-netter to secure the win) and another stellar performance in net from Carey Price.
It was pretty much the typical Canadiens game: They didn’t really play all that well and relied on Price to make enough saves to hold off the opponent long enough for Pacioretty to pot a couple of goals throughout the night. Their offense should be able to get a boost on Saturday against an undermanned Bruins defense. Pick: Canadiens 4, Bruins 1
The rest of Saturday’s picks
Tampa Bay Lightning 5, Buffalo Sabres 3
Ottawa Senators 4, Toronto Maple Leafs 2
Florida Panthers 3, Philadelphia Flyers 2
Columbus Blue Jackets 2, New York Rangers 1
Washington Capitals 4, New Jersey Devils 1
Detroit Red Wings 3, Carolina Hurricanes 1
Nashville Predators 5, Edmonton Oilers 3
Minnesota Wild 3, St. Louis Blues 2
Chicago Blackhawks 4, New York Islanders 2
Dallas Stars 5, Colorado Avalanche 4
Vancouver Canucks 3, Calgary Flames 2
Pittsburgh Penguins 4, Arizona Coyotes 1
Anaheim Ducks 3, San Jose Sharks 2
The Boston Bruins defense is going to continue to struggle. (USATSI)
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