Need to Know: Bruins at Penguins

BostonBruins.com - There's a lot for this Bruins team to feel good about after a gritty, hard-fought 2-1 overtime victory over the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre on Monday. The Bruins will attempt to keep momentum going as they travel to PPG Paints Arena to take on the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday night.
Wednesday night's game will mark the first of three meetings between the B's and last year's Stanley Cup champions. The Bruins won all three meetings against the Penguins last year, outscoring them by a combined total of 14-3.
Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. EST on NBC Sports Network and 98.5 The Sports Hub.
Here is what you need to know:

What to Watch For

The Bruins (16-12-2, 34 points) snapped a three-game losing streak in Montreal on Monday night, courtesy of Ryan Spooner's overtime winner.
Head Coach Claude Julien featured new forward lines in the matchup, most notably moving David Backes to Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand's line, while David Pastrnak moved to a line with David Krejci and Tim Schaller.
Julien doesn't think his team has played badly, but changed up his lines hoping for a goal-scoring spark.
"I think for the most part we've been good defensively all year," said Julien, following an optional team practice in Pittsburgh on Tuesday afternoon. "Offensively, it's not like we haven't created chances."
Austin Czarnik and Ryan Spooner, on a newly formed third line with Jimmy Hayes, provided all the offense the Bruins would need. Czarnik and Spooner registered a goal and an assist each, helping the B's get past Carey Price, an early favorite for the Vezina Trophy.
While the change of lines may not have seen immediate offensive production, the B's were able to shut down a potent Canadiens offense, which ranks fifth in the NHL with 3.14 goals per game.

Opposing View

The Penguins (19-7-3, 41 points) come into Wednesday night's game scorching hot, having won their last six games by a combined score of 35-14.
Their most recent win on Monday night, a 7-0 drubbing over the Arizona Coyotes, featured seven different goal-scorers with 13 of 18 skaters registering a point.
Though led by Sidney Crosby (21 goals in 23 games) and Evgeni Malkin (12 goals and 20 assists in 29 games), the Bruins know they will have to prepare for a balanced Pittsburgh attack in addition to the Pens' high-octane stars.
"They've found a good balance on their end of guys that they have a system, they've bought in, and they've won the ultimate prize," Backes said Tuesday.
In addition to their hounding offense, the Penguins have found fantastic goaltending of late from Matt Murray, who has posted an 11-2-0 record with a stingy 1.84 goals-against average.
The Penguins are first in scoring (3.52 goals per game) and 21st in goals allowed (2.86 per game), while featuring an above average power play, ranking 12th in the league (20.4%).

Wait, There's More

• The Bruins were an impressive five-for-five on the penalty kill against Montreal on Monday night, improving their man-down unit to an 87.9% success rate, good for second in the NHL, trailing only the Carolina Hurricanes.
• Brandon Carlo registered a game-high 27:59 of time on ice against Montreal on Monday night, registering four shots on goal and blocking five shots in the process.
• Tonight will mark the 199th meeting between the Bruins and the Penguins. The B's have a 110-61-21-6 record against the Pens.