Red-hot Boston Bruins host ice-cold Philadelphia Flyers
It’s a tale of hot and cold on Thursday night as the Boston Bruins, riding a four-game win streak, host the Philadelphia Flyers, who have dropped their last four.
The Philadelphia Flyers are still hanging on to the third playoff berth in the Metropolitan Division, but if they keep up their recent losing ways, they’ll be left contending for a wild card — or worse.
Getting their first win in their last four outings tonight against the red-hot Boston Bruins might be a tall order for the Flyers. Even without top center Patrice Bergeron and top defender Charlie McAvoy, the Bruins have put up 20 points in their last four outings.
Here’s everything you need to know to catch this game on Thursday night:
Boston Bruins vs. Philadelphia Flyers
Date: Thursday, Mar. 8
Location: TD Garden, Boston
Time: 7 p.m. ET
TV: NHL Network, NESN
Live Stream: Fubo.TV
Standings can change quickly at this time of year; it’s crazy to think that if Philadelphia had eked out a win against the Penguins on Wednesday night, it would be sitting pretty at first place in the Metro Division.
Instead, the Penguins own those bragging rights, and the Flyers are left trying to right the ship.
They’ll look to forward Claude Giroux to help them do that. His 79 points on the year is good for No. 4 in the league overall.
Meanwhile, Boston has more than just injury problems creating holes in its lineup. The B’s lost forward David Backes to a three-game suspension, the league announced Wednesday, after his hit on Detroit’s Frans Nielsen.
With all their holes in the lineup, the Bruins’ top six heading into Thursday’s matchup figures to be Brad Marchand-Riley Nash-David Pastrnak and Jake Debrusk-David Krejci-Rick Nash, with Zdeno Chara and Brandon Carlo the top pairing on defense.
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Six points separate the Bruins (90 points) from the Tampa Bay Lightning (96 points) at the top of the Atlantic Division, but a win tonight could help Boston pull even farther away from the Toronto Maple Leafs (85 points).