Zdeno Chara set for Bruins reunion, other NHL storylines to follow
Zdeno Chara‘s emotional reunion with the Boston Bruins is just one of many compelling storylines in the NHL tonight.
Another day means another slate of mouthwatering hockey in the NHL with an 11-game schedule set for tonight after the Buffalo Sabres beat the New Jersey Devils in a 4-3 Shootout earlier today. And, chief among the many plot lines throughout tonight’s games will be Zdeno Chara going up against his former team.
Chara will face the Boston Bruins later for the first time since he signed a one-year, $1,525,000 deal with the Washington Capitals in the offseason, a team he spent 14 long and hugely successful years with, winning one Stanley Cup and recording 481 points (148 G, 333 A) in 1,023 career regular-season games. Although the game is not in Boston, it will still be an emotional night for the former Bruins Captain who will go up against some very close friends.
More from Puck Prose
- Detroit Red Wings 2023 Rookie Camp Has Plenty of Ups and Downs
- This Columbus Blue Jackets rookie doesn’t want to be forgotten
- 2 trades the Boston Bruins must make to secure the Stanley Cup
- 3 reasons the Avalanche won’t win the Stanley Cup in 2024
- This is a big year for Alex Turcotte and the Los Angeles Kings
Of course, that isn’t the only intriguing storyline to get your teeth stuck into given that a number of teams will be looking to bounce back following defeats earlier in the week, while we should also see the return of David Pastrnak for the Boston Bruins tonight.
With a whole buffet of action to look forward to once again, let’s delve into some of the most eye-catching talking points we are looking forward to following as the night unfolds with a boatload of entertainment guaranteed once again in the National Hockey League.
The Main Storylines to follow across the NHL on another busy night
Pasta back on the menu
Yes, after missing the first couple of weeks of the 2020-21 NHL season following hip surgery during the offseason, David Pastrnak will make his season debut for the Boston Bruins at the Washington Capitals tonight, and it will be both a welcome and timely boost for the B’s.
Although they have begun to hit their stride as of late and currently sit second in the East Division with a 5-1-1 record, the Bruins struggled out of the gate and didn’t score a single goal at 5-on-5 in the opening three games of the year. And, while they have improved somewhat, they still rank 17th in Goals For Per Game (2.86) in the NHL, and they have only scored 10 even-strength goals with the rest coming on special teams.
Therefore, Pastrnak’s return could not come at a more perfect time given that he scored 48 goals in 2019-20, winning the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy along with Alex Ovechkin, who could also return for the Capitals tonight after missing four games due to being on the NHL’s COVID-19 Protocol list. But there is no doubt that getting back one of the purest goalscorers and lethal shooters in David Pastrnak will be huge for the Boston Bruins, and it should also help Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron who will be getting their top weapon back on their line.
Can the Dallas Stars go 5-0-0?
It seems that having to deal with a COVID-19 outbreak and sitting idle for the first week or so of the 2020-21 NHL season has had little impact on the Dallas Stars, who will be hoping to improve to 5-0-0 on the year by beating the Carolina Hurricanes tonight, who are 3-1-0 in the Central Division.
It has been pretty impressive work from the Stars so far who are without elite goaltender Ben Bishop and star center Tyler Seguin, with both expected to miss a large chunk of the season. However, as was the case during their run to the 2019-20 Stanley Cup Final, others have stepped up in their place and have delivered the goods.
Anton Khudobin has carried on from where he left off and the Russian goaltender has a 3-0-0 record with one shutout, a 0.99 Goals Against Average and a stellar .958 Save Percentage. He has been sensational to start the year, as has veteran forward Joe Pavelski who has nine points (4 G, 5 A) in four games and depth forward Denis Gurianov is also off to an impressive start with three goals and four assists for seven points.
Boasting a perfect record thus far, the Dallas Stars are absolutely rolling right now and, although still very early, if they could beat the Hurricanes tonight to improve to 5-0-0 then it would send a clear message to the rest of the National Hockey League that the 2019-20 Stanley Cup runners-up really do mean business this year.
Busy night in Canada
There will be three matchups in an ultra-competitive North Division tonight, and all three should be incredibly compelling to keep an eye on. For starters, the red-hot Toronto Maple Leafs take on the Edmonton Oilers, a team they beat 4-3 on Thursday thanks to contributions from up and down the lineup.
The Leafs, who are 7-2-0 on the year, are getting impressive play from star forward Mitch Marner who has 13 points (5 G, 8 A) on the year, while gritty forward Wayne Simmonds has goals in three straight games, providing the kind of secondary scoring that this team has long craved.
They are one of the best teams in the NHL right now but they will need to watch out for a bounce-back from the Oilers, who are currently a disappointing 3-6-0 on the year and, despite Leon Draisaitl riding a five-game goal streak and Connor McDavid leading the NHL in points with 14 (5 G, 9 A), Edmonton just can’t get depth scoring and that, coupled with bad goaltending, has been the main factor behind their poor start.
We will then have a matchup between the Calgary Flames and the Montreal Canadiens, with the Canadiens looking like one of the most dangerous teams in the NHL with a 5-0-2 record to start the year. Ranked second in the NHL in Goals For Per Game (4.71) and spearheaded by offseason addition Tyler Toffoli, who has nine points (6 G, 3 A) in 6 games, the Canadiens look the real deal and they will be looking to take advantage of a Flames team that have dropped three straight.
Finally, the 5-5-0 Vancouver Canucks, who have won their last three, albeit all against the horrific Ottawa Senators, will go up against the impressive 5-2-0 Winnipeg Jets who are 10-0-0 in their last 10 games against the Canucks, the longest regular-season win streak against one opponent in franchise history. All three games have all the ingredients you could possibly want for a great night of hockey and all three games have huge implications already on what is an increasingly crowded North Division.
Hello Again, Old Friend
We mentioned it at the top so we will finish with Zdeno Chara’s emotional reunion with the Boston Bruins, who will play the first of a two-game set against the Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena.
It will be the first time since stunningly signing with the Caps during the offseason that Chara will go up against a team he spent fourteen long and hugely successful years with, including winning a Stanley Cup in 2011 and making the 2018-19 Stanley Cup Final, and it sure is going to be an emotional night for the former Bruins Captain.
you just absolutely love to see it #BigZee pic.twitter.com/XnOJ3LvYkk
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) January 29, 2021
It will also be interesting to see how the likes of Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and Tuukka Rask react going up against their former teammate, close friend and someone they spent so many years in the trenches with. I mean, it is still strange as hell seeing Chara in a Washington Capitals jersey anyway, and it is going to be a whole new-level of weird tonight when he faces off against a team he will go into the Hockey Hall of Fame representing.
Next. Linus Ullmark establishing himself as true No.1 for Buffalo. dark
Plus, Zdeno Chara already seems well established with his new team after scoring his first goal for the Capitals against the New York Islanders on Thursday, which sparked scenes of joy on the Washington bench and it provided heartwarming scenes between Chara and his new teammates. Overall, while a busy night in the NHL, all eyes will be on Zdeno Chara and his reunion with the Boston Bruins, just one of many underlying storylines in a captivating game that pits 1st against 2nd in the East Division, and it should be a lot of fun to watch unfold.