Boston Bruins: 7 Things to Watch in Matchup with Ottawa Senators

Less than a week in advance of Fall Back 2011, the calendar has all but backtracked to the autumn of 2007 for the Boston Bruins and Ottawa Senators.

Claude Julien’s pupils are once again mired in the lower echelon of the Northeast Division, trying to lasso a second-place Senators team.

As the contesting clubs crack open the second month of the schedule and their six-game season series Tuesday night at the TD Garden, there are seven jutting storylines worth following.

Opposite Streaks

The Senators started at 1-5-0, but have since won six straight, the last five of their wins all being decided by a goal.

The Bruins are on a three-game pointless skid, with all of those losses ending in a one-goal margin if you discount empty-netters.

Sometimes, the convergence of two contrary streaks is the requisite formula for the struggling party to perk up and pull a sharp U-turn.

That will require the host Bruins to match, if not exceed Ottawa’s intensity for at least a sizable majority of the 60-minute contest.

Home Woes vs. Road Grinds

Barring a shootout, something will inevitably have to give at the Garden.

The Senators are 2-3-0 on the road, with both of those wins requiring one-on-ones, while the Bruins are 2-5-0 at home and have lost four of their last five bouts at the Garden.

With this being an intra-divisional confrontation, Ottawa will want to buck its active trend and avoid giving its adversary any points.

Boston, most naturally, is still pining to capitalize on its early bevy of home contests.

Tough To Put Them Away

The Bruins have yet to sculpt themselves a 2-0 lead in any of their first 10 games.

They have scored first only thrice, with two of those 1-0 advantages ultimately devolving into 2-1 losses.

Ottawa, on the other hand, has routinely fallen behind, authorizing the first goal in nine out of 12 outings so far.

But the Senators are a respectable 4-5-0 in that scenario. In addition, they are 2-4-0 when falling behind by two goals at any point in a game, those two wins being shootout triumphs over the Wild and the Rangers.

If Boston somehow replenishes its carbonated attack like it did momentarily against Toronto on Oct. 20 and dishes it out in the opening frame, they can put the Senators in a more daunting three-goal hole.

Although, if the Sens can strike first, they are still undefeated in that scenario at 3-0-0, while the Bruins are 2-5-0 when they shed first blood.

Getting To Their Goalies

Despite his 6-2-0 record, Ottawa’s No. 1 stopper, Craig Anderson, has been prone to less-than-spectacular stats on a nightly basis.

In 10 overall appearances, he has already posted a save percentage below .900 and authorized three or more goals on eight occasions.

For what it’s worth, Boston’s Tim Thomas may have the upper hand in this department based on his October game log. Despite his sub-.500 record of 3-4-0, Thomas has yet to allow four goals in a single game, and his lowest single-night save percentage was an .897 success rate against San Jose.

Meanwhile, Thomas’ former backup, Alex Auld of the Senators, and his current colleague, Tuukka Rask, have a common complaint.

They are each 0-3-0 with eight goals-against to start the year, although Rask has been slightly more efficient.

Stopping Spezza and Co.

With a team-best 15 points, Jason Spezza is off to his most productive 12-game start since he and Bruins’ captain Zdeno Chara were last teammates in Ottawa.

In terms of goal-scoring, the 10-year veteran Spezza has set himself a new bar with six strikes in his first 12 ventures.

Meanwhile, linemate Milan Michalek is elevating his rate with a team-leading eight goals along with five assists.

Spezza’s other winger, Chris Neil, has a relatively respectable 3-2-5 log. Together, the three of them have combined to finish off eight power-play conversions.

Thinking Outside The Box

The Senators boast the most explosive power play in the league right now with a searing 31 percent success rate.

Six different puckslingers have combined for 13 man-up strikes.

For the Bruins, this ought not to be as problematic as one might imagine. Despite taking six minor penalties in Saturday’s loss at Montreal, they have proven themselves capable of minimizing their shorthanded time in other recent outings, particularly their last two home games, in which they only had two infractions.

If they can demonstrate similar discipline Tuesday night, they could turn a double-whammy on Ottawa, which has the NHL’s second-worst penalty kill, a 71.9 percent success rate and is also No. 29 in 5-on-5 play.

Catching Up Made Easier?

With their last-place team trailing Ottawa by eight points, Bruins buffs should be at least mildly reinforced by the fact that Boston has two games in hand.

A regulation win on Tuesday would whittle down the deficit to six points with the same number of games in hand.

That wouldn’t be much, but on the whole, it would be quite a bit with still 71 games to come thereafter.