Boston Bruins: 5 Biggest Games on the February Schedule

Within the next four weeks, the Boston Bruins will have a chance to secure victory in three of their season series against Northeast Division rivals. They will have three opportunities to recompense their inexplicably slushy 5-7-0 record against Southeast Division tenants.

But more critically, the coming month will bear two meetings apiece with a member of the four-headed monsters that are the Atlantic Division and the Central Division. As increasingly cozy as their spot at the summit of their own division may be getting, the Bruins’ principal priority should be enhancing their posture across the NHL landscape.

In turn, the head-to-heads with fellow Eastern Conference bigwigs and aspiring Western powers constitute the bulk of the highlights on Boston’s February docket. The top five matchups of the month are presented here in chronological order.

Feb. 4 vs. Pittsburgh

Entering Wednesday night’s visit to Toronto, the Penguins are riding an eight-game winning streak. Come Saturday’s tilt at TD Garden, they will either have a nine-game tear in the works or be seeking to hit the reset key.

Either way, handling Pittsburgh and stifling Evgeni Malkin are two of the most coveted methods of making a statement in the NHL today.

It is worth noting that, even while the Penguins’ last eight adversaries could not reap a two-point package from them, the surprising St. Louis Blues did manage to hold Malkin scoreless. More on that team later.

Feb. 11 vs. Nashville

The Predators hail from the Western Conference’s most competitive division and, as such, will come into the Garden bearing a perilous combination of strength and hunger.

The best news on Boston’s front is that this matchup will come in the middle of one of the lighter stretches of the month, with two non-game days both preceding and following this date. But it will be on the Bruins to use the extra rest and preparation to their advantage and not look past this non-conference bout, even though the next game is a titanic tangle in the East.

On that note…

Feb. 14 vs. NY Rangers

Dating back to the start of the 2009-10 season, the Bruins are 1-3-1 against the Blueshirts on home ice, the lone win occurring on March 21, 2010. In the same span, they are 2-6-1 overall in this defense-oriented Original Six series.

The recent shortage of two-point packages at either Garden was a non-issue at season’s end last year or the year prior, but there’s no cause to bank on that again in 2012. Valentine’s Day will be Boston’s last chance to assert itself in front of its own fans and set a promising tone for a prospective playoff meeting with the Rangers.

Feb. 22 at St. Louis

It will likely not matter much if the goaltending card is Tuukka Rask versus Brian Elliott, Jaroslav Halak versus Tim Thomas, Rask versus Halak or Thomas versus Elliott. This promises to be a defensive arm-wrestling bout between two unfamiliar foes and, therefore, a test of the Bruins’ ostensibly superior strike force.

Feb. 25-28 vs. Ottawa

When the Bruins wrap up their six-game road trip with Part I of this home-and-home set, the opposing Senators will be anywhere between vying to shore up their postseason viability and vying to make the Northeast Division derby more competitive.

And in light of Boston’s come-from-behind, 4-3 victory Tuesday night to polish off the month of January, Ottawa figures to be doubly dangerous in their next two encounters. The Senators have already lost half of the season series and will want to ward off as much desperation as they can by winning a few more of these virtual four-point contests.

But if the Bruins can top the Sabres both Feb. 8 and 24, win their series finale with Montreal Feb. 15 and at least garner a split in this set with the Senators, they will have gotten the better of every Northeast Division cohabitant in 2011-12.