Boston Bruins at New Jersey, April 1, 2007 at Continental Airlines Arena

Boston Bruins: 78GP; 35W-37L-6OTL; 76 points; Road record: 17-19-2; 5th Northeast
New Jersey: 78GP; 46W-24L-8OTL; 100 points; Home record: 23-10-5; last 10 games : 5-5-0 ; 1st Atlantic

Season series: Despite being outside the playoffs and having a disappointing regular season, the Boston Bruins lead the season series 2-1.

They lost the first game of the series 5-1 at home on December 9. They avenged that loss, taking the following game 5-3 on December 14 at home and by beating the Devils at the Meadowlands 4-1 in early March. Tomorrow's game in the last meeting between the two teams this season. While the Devils clinched a playoff spot and regained the Division lead on Friday night, the Bruins are sure to not participate in the playoffs. They have nothing to play for yet they managed to beat the Senators this past Tuesday.

Devils
The Devils have won three of their last four games. They got almost all their players back this week. Elias, Rasmussen, returned against the Islanders on Tuesday. Madden returned last night against the Flyers. Brian Gionta is set to return from a groin injury tomorrow against the Bruins after missing most of the March action and being placed on long term injury reserve. He has been skating for a while now and couldn't return until tomorrow.

Jamie Langenbrunner who has been sick with the flu last week and was feeling ill over the weekend didn't miss any games and is much better.

On Friday night, Scott Gomez got injured with a bruised thigh. Although he hopes to play tomorrow he had to see how it feels before making a decision.

Tonight the Penguins lost in overtime to Toronto. The Maple leafs had a 4-1 lead and allowed 3 goals to let Pittsburgh back in the game. The last Penguins' goal was scored with 4 seconds remaining. Tomas Kaberle scored in overtime to give the Leafs a much needed win to keep their playoffs hopes alive. The Penguins retake the lead in the division by one point but the Devils have a game in hand.

Bruins
The Bruins lost to Atlanta tonight and tomorrow will be the second leg of a back to back. Tomorrow's game is their last remaining game against a non-Northeast division team.

The Devils have solved their problems at home with a win last night against the Flyers. They are trailing in the season series and just that should be a good reason enough to get up for the game. Boston is outside the playoffs and it is hard to imagine the Devils not taking advantage of their schedule. It would be a concern if tomorrow's game was anything else but a win, with only 4 games to go in the regular season. They pretty much control their destiny. They just have to match Pittsburgh's record in their last 4 games.


The Devils will be home to play Ottawa on Tuesday, then travel to Philadelphia on Thursday. They will face the Islanders on Sunday for the season finale.
Pittsburgh has three games remaining: home against Buffalo on Tuesday; in Ottawa on Thursday; and home again against the Rangers on Saturday.


New Red Sox pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka dropped the ceremonial opening puck before the December 14 loss. He had just signed a contract with the Red Sox.

In the same game Clemmensen made his second start of the season, stopped 40 shots while facing 45. Clemmensen had a tough game allowing 2 goals in the opening 1:25 on goals by Brad Boyes and Bergeron.

Joey MacDonald, a goalie acquired on waivers from Detroit, made his Bruins' debut on March 4, stopped 26 shots to earn a 4-1 victory over the New Jersey Devils.


"He was on emergency recall. With John Madden coming back we sent him back. He played very well. He's going to be here sooner than later."
Lou Lamoriello about rookie David Clarkson who got called up and played well: four points (three goals, one assist) in seven games


The Devils have to look for the win. The Penguins just scored a point tonight. It would be good to put pressure on the Pens. The Devils right now are a point behind. A win would put them back on top, one point ahead. There are still some games left and anything can happen but that would just test the Penguins.

Travis Zajac is on a 8 game scoring streak. He has at least a point since the win in Carolina on March 15. He scored 3 goals and had 6 assists for a total of 9 points. Over that span he has assisted on a game winner and had a game winner himself. The total doesn't include the shootout goal he scored to seal the win in Florida. His production is impressive especially for a rookie who just came out of College. It is unusual to see a young player getting better throughout the season and especially towards the end of the season while the length of the season and level of play in College and in the NHL is so different.