Tonight at 7 p.m. ET, the Toronto Maple Leafs (20-14-3, 43 points) and Boston Bruins (19-15-3, 41 points) clash for the third of four meetings in New Year's Eve action live from the TD Garden in Boston. The game can be live streamed here. Toronto fans can hear all of the action on TSN 1050 while Boston fans can do the same on WBZ 1030.
Toronto has dropped two straight games and plays the fifth tilt of a seven-match homestand while Boston has won three of four and continues the second game of a three-match homestand.
The Maple Leafs hold the top wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference while the Bruins are uncharacteristically out of the playoffs, but are still just one game out of the final wild-card spot.
These teams have split decisions thus far this season as Boston won 4-1 on Oct. 25 while Toronto notched a 6-1 triumph on Nov. 12.
The Maple Leafs are slated to turn to Jonathan Bernier and will look to bounce back from a 3-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday.
"I think the biggest thing is we've got to kill more time in their zone," Bernier said per NHL.com. "I think the biggest thing is we've got to cycle the puck more in their zone instead of just going for the rush game. I think we've got to spend more time wearing their [defense] down. When we play well, that's what we do."
Bernier is 14-8-3 with a 2.65 goals-against average and a .921 save percentage thus far this season.
Boston is likely to counter with Tuukka Rask and he is 15-10-3 with a 2.57 GAA and a .911 save percentage.
The Bruins are coming off of a 5-2 win over the Detroit Red Wings on Monday and Claude Julien has paced the play of Loui Eriksson, who is third on the team with 23 points off of nine goals and 14 assists.
"I think to his defense, last year was a tough start for him with two concussions in the first half of the year," Julien told NHL.com. "You know again, I use the example of other guys who've had concussions, you don't come off those things very easily where all of a sudden you're back to playing and everything is good. It takes a while."
Patrice Bergeron leads the team with 27 points off of seven tallies and 20 helpers while Carl Soderberg has found the back of the net seven times and added 19 assists for 26 points.
Toronto counters with an offense that has been paced by Phil Kessel, who has a team-best 39 points off of 17 goals and 22 assists. James van Riemsdyk has 16 markers and 18 helpers for 34 points to rank second on the team while Tyler Bozak has lit the lamp 13 times and added 17 assists for 30 points.
It's the final game of 2014 for each of these teams when the puck drops on the Maple Leafs and Bruins in a New Year's Eve showdown tonight at the TD Garden in Boston.
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