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Bruins-Panthers Preview
(AP) -- The Florida Panthers have come up empty on the power play during a four-game home losing streak, and that's bad news as they get ready to host the Boston Bruins and their league-best penalty kill.
The Bruins are seeking a third straight victory and could enjoy a huge goaltending advantage in Sunday's matchup with the Panthers.
Florida (5-8-4) is trying to avoid its first five-game home slide since an 0-4-1 stretch Feb. 16-March 6, 2011. The Panthers are 0-1-3 in this skid, going 0 for 13 with the man advantage.
Boston (10-2-2) is at 94.4 percent on the penalty kill. The Bruins have killed off all 15 chances over their last five games, with Tampa Bay coming up empty on three opportunities in Boston's 4-2 road victory Thursday.
"We have (played well) all year on the penalty kill," right wing Nathan Horton said. "Players go out there and they really get the job done, they really help us and they give us momentum."
Tuukka Rask made 24 saves and improved to 4-0-0 with a 1.25 goals-against average in his last four road starts. He is 4-1-0 in five starts against the Panthers with a 0.97 GAA - his lowest against any Eastern Conference foe.
The struggling Panthers goaltenders have posted a 3.54 GAA for one of the league's worst marks.
Jacob Markstrom stopped 37 of 40 shots in his first start of the season Friday in a 3-1 loss at Pittsburgh. The 23-year-old Markstrom was called up from the minors Wednesday.
"The second period we lost our legs and he made a big difference," coach Kevin Dineen said. "We had guys caught on a long change and he did a good job of coming up big when we needed him. That was a good showing by Jacob."
Scott Clemmensen had 32 saves for his first win in Florida's previous game, a 5-2 victory at Philadelphia on Thursday. Jose Theodore is 0-2-2 with a 3.87 GAA in his last four starts, although he's 10-1-1 with a 1.94 GAA in his past 12 appearances against the Bruins.
Horton had his first two-goal game Thursday. The former Panthers winger has never scored in seven games against his original NHL team, with no points in three games as a visitor at the BB&T Center even though the Bruins have won all of them.
Boston coach Claude Julien has been looking for others to step up and support Brad Marchand, who has a team-high nine goals. Julien feels Horton, who has been plagued by concussions, is poised to do so.
"He's one of the elite right wingers in the league when he's on top of his game," said Julien about Horton. "He's got so much potential, and we know that."
The Bruins will once again get their first look at one of the league's top rookies after Cory Conacher scored against them Thursday. Panthers center Jonathan Huberdeau ranks second to Conacher among first-year players with 13 points.
These teams split four meetings last season, with Boston winning once in a shootout. Marchand and Patrice Bergeron each had five points to lead the Bruins while Brian Campbell topped the Panthers with four.
Updated February 23, 2013
In the latest edition of the "It Is What It Is" podcast, Chris Price and CSNNE's Mike Giardi take a look at the Patriots offseason on both sides of the ball, try and get a handle on which new guys will make an impact first, and whether or not the Patriots have altered their style when it comes to drafting and developing wide receivers.
Mike Florio joined the program to discuss the Jets decision to release Tim Tebow, he said the situation is as disaster all around for the Jets and that the problems begins with owner Woody Johnson. Mike also said that he was disappointed with the Pats moving back in the first round.
One of the hardest working men in the biz, Mike Petraglia aka "Trags", sits down with Butch Stearns live in Foxborough to help break down all the latest Pats moves. He discusses his reaction to the trade in Round 1 and the guys those picks produced. Also, the boys talk about the decent trade the Pats made in acquiring LeGarrette Blount from Tampa Bay for Jeff Demps and a 7th rounder.
We check in with Danny Ainge for our first talk to him since the Celtics season ended last weekend. We talk about the future of the team, KG, Pierce, Doc Rivers and more, as Danny directly answers the rumors being floated by ESPN's Stephen A. Smith.
Jackie Mac joins the show to discuss the trade rumors swirling around Paul Pierce, KG, Doc Rivers and the Celtics. She also discusses the future of the Celtics head coach.
Stephen A. joined the program to discuss the trade rumors he has reported regarding a possible trade including Doc Rivers and the Clippers. Stephen A. also told the guys that he has heard that Danny and Doc may be tiring of working together.
Terry Francona joins the Dennis and Callahan Show to discuss his first-place Indians team as well as his time in Boston. The former Boston manager also touches on his recent book co-authored by Dan Shaughnessy and Shaughnessy's recent dust-up with David Ortiz.
Joe Castiglione talked with John Lackey after he picked up the W against the Twins. Lackey threw seven innings, and retired the 1st twelve batters of the game.
Dave O'Brien talked to John Farrell before the end of the Twins series. The Sox skipper said that Big Papi's success is no surprise given his work ethic.
Shawn joined the program to discuss his big night at MSG. He told the guys that it is not Marchand's job to fight and that he needs to be on the ice and out of the penalty box.
Cleveland Indians hottest team in baseball, yet remain last in attendance May 19, 2013 By AJ Kaufman 6 Comments There’s a scene in Major League where Bob Uecker, portraying the radio voice of the Indians, bemoans, “In case you haven’t noticed, and judging by the attendance you haven’t, the Indians have managed to win a few here and there, and are threatening to climb out of the cellar.” Well, that was nearly 25 years ago and fictional, but today’s reality is that Cleveland has won 17 of its last 21, and currently tops the AL Central with a mark of 25-17. No one in the majors is better than the Indians in the past month (20-7). That’s great news. The bad news, however, is the Tribe somehow remain in the MLB cellar when it comes to attendance. How can this be? The fact that I wrote on this same topic almost to the day last year – when only Tampa Bay drew fewer fans than Cleveland - may be even more troubling. Though roughly 34,000 watched a walk-off win Friday night against Seattle, perfect weather and free caps weren’t enough to draw more than 36,000 Saturday and Sunday combined. What did the Indians do in those tilts? They nabbed another walk-off win on Saturday, then the Indians crushed the great Felix Hernandez Sunday behind Justin Masterson, arguably the AL’s best pitcher right now. Fun fact: The Indians have already faced eight Cy Young Award winners in 2013: Bartolo Colon, R.A. Dickey, Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Jake Peavy, David Price, Justin Verlander and Hernandez. They have won seven out those eight matchups. Simply astounding. This offseason, the much-maligned Indians front office finally made a legitimate attempt to improve the team through free agency. I’m not talking an Ubaldo Jimenez-like trade, but rather smart acquisitions that brought veterans Mike Aviles, Michael Bourn, Jason Giambi, Scott Kazmir, Brett Myers, Mark Reynolds, Drew Stubbs and Nick Swisher to Cleveland. In addition to being a fantastic place to watch a game due to great egress and ingress, with extremely affordable tickets, the best promo lineup anywhere, Jacobs Field boasts overall, cooler, less muggy summer weather than most Midwestern locales. The team also lowered beer and hot dog prices to $4 and $3 respectively. What other professional stadium in any sport offers that? I have visited 28 of the 30 current Major League Baseball stadia, and few top The Jake when all angles are considered. I say that as a baseball fan, not an Indians fan. As for the putative “economic” angle, these are the same people who spend insane amounts of money to watch terrible football every fall and show up in decent numbers for putrid basketball in the winter. Irrespective of season length, those sports charge up to 10 times the price for a ticket, and the atmosphere isn’t half as fan-friendly as baseball. I understand fans’ lack of willingness to get on board to some degree. A decent recap of Cleveland’s decade of “rebuilding” can be read here and the team suffered a horrific collapse last August. However, in addition to all the benefits of attending games at Jacobs (now Progressive) Field, fans should also realize the team has potential and often exceeds preseason aspirations at any point without warning. Cleveland hosts the rival Detroit Tigers — heavy favorites to repeat as AL Central champs — Tuesday and Wednesday nights before hitting the road. The temperature should be pleasant at first pitch each evening so you’d expect The Jake to be full to watch the best hitter on the planet right now — but don’t count on it.
Eddie Olczyk joins the show to discuss the Bruins Rangers series and what to expect with Game 3 back in NY. He also talks about Seguin's inconsistency and the role of Jaromir Jagr.
Terry Francona joins the Dennis and Callahan Show to discuss his first-place Indians team as well as his time in Boston. The former Boston manager also touches on his recent book co-authored by Dan Shaughnessy and Shaughnessy's recent dust-up with David Ortiz.
Shawn joined the program to discuss his big night at MSG. He told the guys that it is not Marchand's job to fight and that he needs to be on the ice and out of the penalty box.
Our afternoon host Mike Salk was offended at Gerry and Kirk's conversation on his favorite band Rush, the guys responded.
Eddie Olczyk joins the show to discuss the Bruins Rangers series and what to expect with Game 3 back in NY. He also talks about Seguin's inconsistency and the role of Jaromir Jagr.
Kenny Albert joins Mut and Merloni to discuss the play of Henrik Lundqvist, changes John Torterella may make before tonight's game, and if home ice advantage will make a difference.
Find out which WEEI host came out victorious in the latest Salk Vs. Mut battle.
We talk to #54 about his career and well deserved induction to the Patriots Hall of Fame.
We tackle four off-topic topics! Today including RGIII's wedding registry, Tiger Woods, new putters in golf and more.
We check in with ESPN's great hockey analyst and former NHL coach Barry Melrose to get his take on this Bruins-Rangers series. We also ask the coach in him how he'd deal with the great play of the rookie defensemen when the vets get healthy... and his answer might surprise you.
The Bruins look to take a 3-0 series lead, Jon Lester gets his first loss, Dwight Howard has options in free agency.
Today on the Daily Planet the Bruins have a 2-0 lead over the New york Rangers, the Red Sox are back on the winning sde of things, and the noteable birthdays of the day.
The Bruins have almost finished raking the Leafs, the Red Sox struggle from the mound, Miami Heat fans show their level of class.
They're like a ray of morning sunshine on an otherwise gloomy day.
....uhhhh.....a bunch of bombs over there....
Sounds like a prostate exam to me!
Linda explains how the shootout transpired in Watertown during the early morning hours. She saw the first suspect mortally wounded and police beginning the manhunt for the second suspect.
More from this showJeff Bauman, a victim of the Boston Marathon bombing, joined the show to give the guys an update of his condition and a first-hand account of that terrible day. Jeff told the guys how he wrote the description of the bomber as soon as he could. Mr. Bauman added that he is aided every day with the knowledge that he is alive and the terrorist that detonated the bomb is dead.
More from this showShawn joined the show to discuss the teams great performance in game two against the Rangers. Shawn said that he wouldn't mind playing for John Tortorella because he seems like a funny guy.
More from this showBy and large, the focus of development in the minor leagues is on players. Still, there is a developmental path for coaches and managers in the farm system, as is evident from the fact that the previous two managers of the Red Sox' Triple-A affiliate in Pawtucket -- Torey Lovullo (2010) and Arnie Beyeler (2011-12) are now both on the Red Sox' big league coaching staff. They share their insights about the differences between player and coaching expectations in Triple-A vs. the majors, while discussing professional development from the perspective of former minor league managers who aspire to similar positions in the big leagues.
More from this showJohn, Gerry and Kirk give their things that they would never do, listeners joined on the WEEI yakoff app with their thoughts.
More from this show