Team Scope:
Bruins: The B's finished the month of November without a regulation loss, marking the first time they accomplished that feat since January of the 1968-69 season. While Boston has been nearly perfect recently, its 4-1 win over the Northeast Division's second-place Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday gave the Bruins only a three-point lead over their Original Six division rival.
Backup goalie Tuukka Rask made 22 saves to lead the Bruins to their fourth straight win over the Leafs this season and earned his first win since Boston's only loss in November during Black Friday's Thanksgiving Showdown against the Red Wings.
"It's always tough (to sit), no matter if you win or lose," Rask told reporters following the game. "You're eager to keep the winning streak going, at least give the team a chance to win."
Penguins: Pittsburgh will look to extend its current win streak to three games Monday as it plays its first game of the season against the defending Stanley Cup champs. But the Pens should be confident with wins in five of seven games since captain Sidney Crosby returned to the lineup on Nov. 21 from post-concussion symptoms that had sidelined him since mid-season of 2010-11.
Crosby chipped in with an assist Saturday and teammates Arron Asham, Pascal Dupuis and Craig Adams tallied goals to lead the Penguins to a 3-2 victory at the Carolina Hurricanes. Backup goalie Brent Johnson made 30 saves for Pittsburgh, including coming up big with a number of key saves in the closing minute of regulation as Hurricanes' coach Kirk Muller pulled his goalie with his team on a two-man advantage power-play which gave Carolina a 6-on-3 advantage.
"You don't see 6-on-3s that often," Johnson commented after the game. "Just an excellent effort from our guys."
Описания с официального сайта Национальной Хоккейной Лиги (NHL.com)