The Boston Bruins are back in action Wednesday night for the first time since the marathon bombing attack on Monday when they host the Buffalo Sabres at TD Garden and the team will be playing with heavy hearts as the entire city will be behind them.
The team was originally slated to play on Monday against the Senators, but the game was postponed until the end of April due to the attack. The explosions are still being investigated and there were three deaths as a result and hundreds were injured after the attack. The Bruins now will have the city on their backs and the helmets on Wednesday will show that, as the players will wear decals that are ribbons that read "Boston Strong".
Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs showed his support for the city with the move and despite the sadness in the city, the team will try to get back to normal as they fight for playoff position in the Eastern conference. The Sabres are barely hanging on behind the Rangers and the Jets in the standings and they will need to turn things around quickly if they would like to play in the postseason. The team has won five of seven as they head to Boston and many players were sympathizing with the city and the victims as they arrived in Boston for the game.
Security will be much tighter at the game on Wednesday after the attacks and there was a heavy presence of police and other authorities at the TD Garden, while vehicles around the area were also being checked. Sports writers had to deal with metal detectors to cover the Bruins practice and fans at the arena will likely be checked as they come into the arena on Wednesday night.
The Bruins are 26-11-4 on the season with 56 points and are second in the Northeast division and rank 12th in goals per game with 2.7 and third in goals against with just 2.2 per game. The team is ranked 24th in power play percentage and first in penalty kill percentage, which could be a huge boost for the team heading into the playoffs. Tomas Vanek is leading the team in points, goals and assists, while Brad Marchand is leading the Sabres in scoring and goals.
The Buffalo Sabres are 18-19-6 on the season with 42 points and they are behind both the Rangers and the Jets in the playoff standings. The team I ranked 22nd in both scoring and goals against per game, while their special teams are close to the bottom, as the team ranks 30th in power play percentage and 26th in penalty kill percentage.
CLICK here for the live stream of the game.
