Bruins aim to rebound versus Coyotes

Hockey Betting Lines

03/05/2009 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Bruins hope the addition of new blood to their roster can help them avoid a third straight loss when they host the Phoenix Coyotes for tonight's interconference battle at TD Banknorth Garden.

The Bruins are leading the Northeast Division and the Eastern Conference with 93 points, but have lost two straight, four of six and eight of their last 11 games.

Boston, which is six points ahead of New Jersey for the top seed in the East, acquired a pair of players at Wednesday's trade deadline to try and help bolster its struggling squad.

The Bruins obtained veteran winger Mark Recchi from the Tampa Bay Lightning and nabbed defenseman Steve Montador from the Anaheim Ducks. Boston also received a second-round pick in 2010 from the Lightning and sent defenseman Matt Lashoff and forward Martins Karsums to Tampa. The B's acquired Montador for young centerman Petteri Nokelainen.

Recchi turned 41 years old last month, but is having a solid season with 13 goals and 45 points in 62 games with the Lightning. The Bruins are Recchi's seventh team in 20 NHL seasons. He has recorded 535 goals and 1,426 points while also playing with Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Montreal, Carolina and Atlanta.

Montador has 20 points on four goals and 16 assists in 65 games with the Ducks this year. He was also leading the club with a plus-14 rating and 125 penalty minutes.

The Coyotes were also busy at Wednesday's deadline, but they were mainly interested in dumping salary and stockpiling prospects and draft picks for the future. Phoenix is 14th out of 15 teams in the West and nine points out of a playoff spot.

Phoenix was involved in the biggest trade of the day, as it sent forward Olli Jokinen and a 2009 third-round draft pick to Calgary for forwards Matthew Lombardi and Brandon Prust and a conditional first-round draft pick.

Jokinen was considered to be the Coyotes most important acquisition this past offseason, as Phoenix acquired him from Florida. The Finnish centerman had 21 goals and 21 assists in 57 games with the Coyotes.

The Coyotes dealt defenseman Derek Morris to the New York Rangers and received defenseman Dmitri Kalinin and forwards Petr Prucha and Nigel Dawes in return. Phoenix also swapped forwards with Philadelphia, sending Daniel Carcillo to the Flyers for Scottie Upshall and a second-round pick in 2011 and traded goaltender Mikael Tellqvist to Buffalo in exchange for a 2010 fourth-round draft pick.

The Bruins were handed a 4-2 loss by visiting Philadelphia on Tuesday as the Flyers scored three times in the final period to skate away with the win.

Patrice Bergeron and Stephane Yelle both notched a power-play goal for Boston. Manny Fernandez allowed four goals on 26 shots in defeat.

Tonight's test marks the fifth segment of a six-game homestand for the Bruins, who will close out the residency Saturday against Chicago. Boston is 2-1-1 on the current homestand and 21-5-5 as the host this year, but the club has lost four of its last six tests in Beantown.

Phoenix has lost three straight, six of eight and 12 of its last 15 games.

The Coyotes were handed a 3-1 loss their last time out in Saturday's home game against St. Louis. Jokinen picked up the lone goal in his final game with the Coyotes and Ilya Bryzgalov successfully handled 27-of-30 shots in taking the loss for Phoenix.

The Coyotes are kicking off a season-high five-game road trip tonight and are just 10-18-3 as the guest this season.

Phoenix is 2-1 with a tie in the last four meetings with the Bruins. The Coyotes earned an overtime victory the last time these clubs met in Boston on December 11, 2005, allowing Phoenix to snap a six-game road winless streak against the Bruins.

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