Preview: Bruins close out November against Red Wings

Just the facts

When: Tonight, 7:00 PM

Where: TD Garden – Boston, MA

How to follow: NESN, SNW, SNP, 98.5 The Sports Hub

Rival SBN site: Winging It In Motown

Know your enemy

• 10-9-3, 23PTS, 4th in Atlantic Division
• Lucas Raymond: 22GP, 9G, 12A, 21PTS; Dylan Larkin: 18GP, 10G, 9A, 19PTS; Tyler Bertuzzi: 19GP, 9G, 9A, 18 PTS
• Alex Nedeljkovic: 6-3-3, 2.70 GAA, .918 save percentage; Thomas Greiss: 4-6-0, 3.41 GAA, .901 save percentage

Game notes

• The Boston Bruins wrap up a three-game homestand tonight against the Detroit Red Wings. This is the second meeting between the two this month and the last time the Bruins will play the Red Wings at home during the regular season. One point currently separates the two teams in the standings.
• In the first game on November 4, the Bruins topped the Red Wings 5-1. Patrice Bergeron netted four goals in the win – three on the power play - with Brad Marchand picking up the primary assist on each. Mike Reilly also added a shorthanded goal. Raymond scored on Detroit’s power play.
• Marchand won’t be able to work his magic with Bergeron tonight though. Yesterday, the NHL’s Department of Player Safety announced a three-game suspension for the Bruins’ star forward on a ‘slew-foot’ on Sunday against the Canucks’ Oliver Ekman-Larsson.
• The Bruins are 7-4-0 in November heading into the final game of the month. They’ve scored 38 goals and allowed 27 in those 11 games. Eight of the games have been decided by three or more goals, five of those being Bruins’ wins.
• The Bruins are coming off a 3-2 win on Sunday over the Vancouver Canucks. The B’s battled back in the third period to net two power-play goals to come away with two points.
• Detroit is 2-3-1 in their last six games. They last played on November 27 against the Buffalo Sabres, winning 3-2 in OT. Carter Rowney and Pius Suter put the Red Wings up 2-1 to end the second period. Jeff Skinner tied the game late in the third period for the Sabres, but Raymond netted the game-winner 26 seconds into extra minutes for the final 3-2 score.
• Linus Ullmark will get his second consecutive start. In Sunday’s win, he posted his second best save percentage of the season at .947 on 38 shots with two goals allowed. He is 3-1-0 in home starts.
• Injury update: Anton Blidh is out for tonight, Bruce Cassidy said. It’s uncertain how long he will be sidelined, but Cassidy doesn’t think it will be too long.
• The B’s held an optional skate yesterday. Knowing Blidh would miss the game, Cassidy originally said they would likely just slot someone into his spot to not mess with the other lines. But now that another left-winger, Marchand, will miss this week’s games, it will be interesting to see how line combinations shake out during morning skate.

See ya tonight!