NU bounces back, Bruins look to do the same tonight; Forsberg to make debut

Northeastern's Bryan Esner scored on a nifty breakaway move and NU added a second goal at 19:59 of the first in a 3-0 victory over Providence last night at Matthews Arena. The Huskies looked pretty solid, even without leading scorers Mike Morris and Chad Costello. I fully expect Joe Vitale to have the best shot at the AHL/NHL after college at this point. Morris, now suffering from back discomfort, is really having a tough time staying healthy and finding some consistency.

Elsewhere in Hockey East action last night, BU knocked off league-leading UNH. NU will travel down to Providence tonight for the second game of the home and home series.

The Bruins will have their hands full once again tonight as they travel to Buffalo looking to bounce back from a bad loss to the Islanders on Thursday night. With the Rangers almost sure to get a win today at home against the Forsberg-less Flyers (Philly has not won a game without Pete in the lineup this season), the Bruins need at least a point to keep pace. It won't come easy.

A bunch of other good looking games to catch today. Atlanta and Ottawa meet with 69 points each. This is always an interesting matchup, which features the two big name guys in Heatley and Hossa that were swapped not long ago. The Minnesota/Nashville game of course is the game of the night with Forsberg making his debut. Look for the Preds to bounce back from last night's 1-0 loss to the Blues. But how about that lone goal by Bill Guerin last night? I'll be the first to admit that I thought his career in the new NHL was all but over.

The Penguins are not in action tonight but host the Caps and Ovechkin tomorrow at 3:30 on NBC. With points in their last 15 games, the Pens should get the best of this one. Again last night, this young group found a way to get it done, holding on against division-leading New Jersey, 5-4 win.

Unfortunately for me, I will be watching the 3-25-2 Northeastern women's hockey team take on Vermont tonight at Matthews Arena. Hopefully, that game will not go into overtime and the Bruins will hold on long enough for me to catch the end of the game around the corner at Uno's.