Pluses, minuses for Bruins, Red Wings

Each Wednesday throughout the regular season, Kevin Weekes will be offering his pluses and minuses for the teams competing in the NBCSN Wednesday Night Rivalry game in his Weekes on the Web blog. Weekes also will assist fans with three must-watch elements of the game.
The Boston Bruins and Detroit Red Wings are heading in opposite directions; Boston has won two straight and eight of 10 (8-2-0), and Detroit has lost two straight and nine of 10 (1-5-4).

The Bruins are in third place in the Atlantic Division with 32 points; the Red Wings are in sixth place, four points back, but have played three more games.
It's an Original Six matchup when the Red Wings (11-13-6) host the Bruins (14-9-4) at Little Caesars Arena on Wednesday (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, NHL.TV). Here's my breakdown of the game:

Bruins

Pluses: The Bruins are finally healthy. Center Patrice Bergeron, forward Brad Marchand and goaltender Tuukka Rask each are back. Bergeron has 18 points (five goals, 13 assists) in 22 games, and does it all in both ends. Marchand is second on the Bruins in scoring with 23 points (11 goals, 12 assists). Rask is 4-1-0 in his past six games, allowing eight goals with a .946 save percentage. He had been struggling previously, but lately has looked more like his old self, which is good news for Boston.
Boston's young players, including defenseman Charlie McAvoy, 19, center Danton Heinen, 22, and forward Jake DeBrusk, 21, are playing well and thriving. McAvoy has played top-pair minutes on defense (23:27 per game) and has also chipped in offensively with 15 points (four goals, 11 assists) in 27 games. Heinen has 15 points (six goals, nine assists) in 23 games, and DeBrusk has 13 points (six goals, seven assists), also in 23 games.

The Bruins have become a faster team. Forward David Pastrnak began the wave for them a few seasons ago, but they've played with more tempo, which general manager Don Sweeney and coach Bruce Cassidy wanted. They've also been pretty good defensively; they rank seventh in the NHL in goals-against per game (2.74) and fourth in penalty killing (85.5 percent).
Minuses: Boston needs more production from their bottom six; Heinen has six goals, but nobody else outside the top six has more than three goals and one has more than 10 points (center Riley Nash has 11, on two goals and nine assists). It was nice to see forward David Backes score two goals against the Arizona Coyotes last Thursday, but that won't always be the case.
Prior to their strong play of late, the Bruins have been too inconsistent. That can be attributed to their injuries, but the players on the ice weren't great offensively or defensively, including Rask. Boston hadn't won consecutive games this season before Nov. 16-18. Let's see if that has changed for the better now.
They still need a power forward. The return of Backes, limited to 10 games because of colon surgery, is exactly what they need; he has the physicality and the scoring touch, and should boost their lineup.

Red Wings

Pluses: Some of the Red Wings' younger players, including center Dylan Larkin, 21, and forwards Anthony Mantha, 23, and Andreas Athanasiou, 23, are playing more minutes and are having a chance to showcase their talents. Larkin leads Detroit with 23 points (four goals, 19 assists), and has been more of a playmaker this season. Mantha has 22 points (12 goals, 10 assists). Athanasiou has 10 points (five goals, five assists) in 20 games, but he isn't the only one struggling.

Defenseman Mike Green, 32, has 18 points (two goals, 16 assists). True, he's not the offensive player he was when he scored 73 points (31 goals, 42 assists) for the Washington Capitals in 2008-09, but he has the hockey IQ and vision to make things happen, and is the only offensive threat the Red Wings have on the blue line.
Lastly, Detroit is playing at home. Little Caesars Arena isn't Joe Louis Arena, and the Red Wings have struggled there this season (5-6-5), but you always prefer to play big games at home, and a divisional game against a rival qualifies as just that.
Minuses:The Red Wings have been frustratingly inconsistent; they've lost nine of their past 10, but began the season 4-1-0, followed by a six-game losing streak (0-5-1). Part of the problem is they were trending down last season and missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time in 26 seasons. Instead of rebuilding the team, they've done more of a reset, which has shown in the results this season.
Offense has been an issue; Detroit averages 2.63 goals per game, which ranks 28th in the League, and have scored two goals or fewer in 14 of their 30 games. Mantha, with 12 goals, is the only Red Wing in double-digit goal scoring. In order to succeed in such a case, you need great goaltending, and Jimmy Howard and Petr Mrazek haven't been up to the task.

Lastly, Detroit doesn't have an elite defenseman. They have Green, but his days as a big point producer are behind him. Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski, a Michigan boy, would have been a good fit there.

Three things to watch

1. Can the Red Wings contain Bergeron's line?
   2. How will Athanasiou and Mantha contribute?
   3. How much intensity will there be between the Original Six and Atlantic Division rivals?