The Boston Bruins aim for a second consecutive win coming out of the NHL’s holiday break when they host the New Jersey Devils on Saturday night.
Boston put aside a four-game losing streak (0-2-2) in strong fashion with a 4-1 win at Buffalo on Wednesday, scoring its last three goals on the power play.
In that contest, Charlie Coyle scored twice to break a six-game drought and Jake DeBrusk posted two assists for his first multi-point game of the season. However, Bruins coach Jim Montgomery has been most pleased with an overall resurgent level of energy in recent days.
“I thought the energy of our fans being here — the guys want to put on a show or whatever it was, but we practiced with really good pace and intensity (on Thursday and Friday),” Montgomery said.
The Bruins also should get a boost from forward Georgii Merkulov in his expected NHL debut. The 23-year-old’s 30 points in 31 games ranked fourth in the AHL when he was recalled on Friday.
“It’s super exciting for me,” Merkulov said. “(The coaches in Providence) told me every game to play your game, just work hard, stay consistent with the details and the opportunity will present itself.”
Merkulov centered a line with James van Riemsdyk and Trent Frederic during practice on Friday. Pavel Zacha, Morgan Geekie and David Pastrnak remained together as a top line.
Though Merkulov brings a definite offensive element, having scored nine goals in his last nine AHL games, he must show the team his value all over the ice.
“We want to score more, but we don’t want to score more sacrificing our team defense,” Montgomery said. “The reason (Merkulov) got called up is because of his 200-foot game, not because he’s scoring a lot. Our team has guys that are paid a lot of money to score goals, and he’s got to support that.”
New Jersey, which went 2-2-1 during a recent five-game homestand and is on a three-game win streak, is set to finish a back-to-back road set following a dominating 6-2 win over the Ottawa Senators on Friday.
The Devils will look to build upon netting at least six goals for the third time in December and the fourth time this season. However, they will have to break a 1-5-1 trend in the second game of back-to-backs in order to do so.
Jesper Bratt finished with a goal and three assists against the Senators, leading six goal-scorers. Brothers Jack and Luke Hughes each had a goal and two assists.
“(Friday) was a more complete game,” New Jersey defenseman Brendan Smith said. “All in all, we did a lot of the right things. It’s a good win.”
Timo Meier had four goals in a three-game span before getting held scoreless on Friday. He is forming strong chemistry on a line with Dawson Mercer and Michael MacLeod that has generated significant offense of late.
Mercer is also on a strong run with three goals and six points over his past four games.
“It’s something that you hope you find on any team that you’re with. You want lines to click,” Devils coach Lindy Ruff said. “For good periods of time, a line will stay together. … They’ve got good chemistry. Michael’s speed as a centerman has opened up some lanes for Timo.”
Friday also marked New Jersey goaltender Nico Daws’ first NHL game and win since undergoing hip surgery in June.
The Devils are 11-5-0 on the road, while the Bruins are 10-2-3 at home.
–Field Level Media
