I thought I'd get a jump on a little Bruins-Kings preview, mostly because tonight has to be one of the slowest sports night of the fall/winter (one NHL game/Rams-Seahawks on MNF, no college hoops on TV) and Los Angeles (13-12-4) is arriving in Boston as a mess.
Kings head coach Terry Murray was fired today and replaced by assistant John Stevens. LA is not exactly setting the NHL on fire, they're currently 12th in the Western Conference but only three points behind Dallas and Phoenix atop the Pacific Division.
More knowledgeable hockey sources than myself, namely my buddy @twolinepass of Yahoo Sports fame, said in a Tweet today that Murray was axed since Los Angeles spent to the cap and had higher expectations, meaning somebody had to pay for their slow start.
The Kings are not short on talent with a goaltender like Jonathan Quick (2.10 GAA, .931 save percentage, 4 shutouts), defensemen Jack Johnson and Drew Doughty with forwards Anze Kopitar (10 goals, 18 assists), Mike Richards (11 goals, 9 assists but on IR), Justin Williams (4 goals, 13 assists), Simon Gagne (7 goals, 8 assists) and Dustin Brown (5 goals, 10 assists) among others.
Bruins captain Zdeno Chara was feeling better today although he didn't practice and he doesn't expect to play tomorrow night either at TD Garden. Boston plays at Ottawa on Wednesday and at Philadelphia on Saturday afternoon before coming home to face Montreal on Monday. If all goes well with Chara's leg, I expect he'll return either Saturday or Monday. Steven Kampfer will play in Chara's place after being a healthy scratch for weeks.
The B's are 4-5-3 in the 12 regular season games that Chara has missed during his career with the Black and Gold. You could never question his dedication since in Boston he played 80 games in '06-'07, 77 in '07-'08, 80 in '08-'09, 80 in '09-'10 and 81 in '10-11. That's why it was such a big deal when he mysteriously missed Game 2 of the Canadiens series last spring cause he had a virus/was dehydrated. Big Z will never be mistaken for J.D. Drew or Josh Beckett, who always look for an excuse to sit out a game or 10.
Daniel Paille returned to practice today from his mild concussion suffered last Thursday against Florida. It sounds like he'll return tomorrow night while Gregory Campbell missed practice and likely won't suit up tomorrow against the Kings after he took a puck to the foot against Columbus on Saturday. Zach Hamill was called up from Providence on an emergency basis and he'd take Soupy's spot if he can't go.
It'll be interesting to see who gets the start in goal for the Bruins since you could make a case for either one. Tim Thomas looking for redemption after getting pulled on Saturday or Tuukka Rask, who pitched a one-period shutout. Regardless, I'm sure whomever starts against the Kings will sit the next night against the Senators because the Bruins are hopping on a flight directly after the game tomorrow.
Another note from today: Brad Marchand was fined $2500 by the NHL for his tripping incident in the Penguins game last Monday.
UPDATE 12/13: Rask will get the nod tonight while Thomas is slated to play tomorrow night in Ottawa (a team he typically owns). Chara and Campbell are out tonight while Campbell-who has some type of fracture in his foot-has already been declared out for tomorrow night too. Chara will travel with the team. Daniel Paille will be a game-time decision tonight at TD Garden, given the other injuries I'd guess that he'll go (assuming his head is OK) with Hamill centering the fourth line.
Paille is back in, Jordan Caron is the healthy scratch.
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