Tim Thomas and Marc Andre Fleury were the first players onto the ice for the Bruins and Penguins respectively, and will get the start in the Saturday afternoon matinee at TD Garden. Thomas has won three in a row during the recent Boston doldrums over the last 10 games and is coming off a 45-save performance in a 3-1 victory over the Penguins in their only meeting of the season at the CONSOL Energy Center.
Thomas is 8-4-4 with a 2.63 goals against average and a .915 save percentage in 16 career games against the Penguins, who have been battling for survival ever since Sidney Crosby went down with concussion symptoms in that very-same Dec. 5 game against the Bruins.
Other than Thomas inserted between the pipes, the Bruins lineup is exactly the same as it was in Thursdays shutout loss to the Carolina Hurricanes:
Marchand-Bergeron-Seguin
Lucic-Krejci-Peverley
Pouliot-Kelly-Hamill
Paille-Campbell-Thornton
Chara-Boychuk
Seidenberg-Corvo
Ference-McQuaid
Thomas
Rask