Second period quick hits

It’s not everyday where you see Jordan Caron drop the gloves, but he did for the third time in his NHL career (via HockeyFights.com). The 2009 first round pick landed a few punches on Devils’ enforcer Jordin Tootoo, ultimately ending in a hugging contest. Even against the hapless Devils, Caron is showing a little something.

Breakaways and Daniel Paille go hand in hand for all the wrong reasons. That proved true again past the midway mark of the second, but at least the former Sabre was able to put a shot on goal, so that’s a step up from shooting high or wide.

With all the talk of Torey Krug, Dougie Hamilton and Reilly Smith needing contract extensions, Carl Soderberg’s name also deserves to be in that discussion. Without him, the Bruins’ third line isn’t as stable. The Swede notched his ninth of the season at 8:31 as his wrist shot beat Schneider.

The Devils best chance came off the stick of Scott Gomez, but his shot hit the post. The Bruins outshot the Devils 11-3 in the middle 20 and have a 29-7 shots on goal advantage through two periods.

The Black and Gold are 13-1-1 when leading after two periods, while the Devils are 2-15-1 when trailing after 40 minutes.

First period quick hits

Milan Lucic must have listened to the trade rumors over the last week. The eighth year power forward scored his first goal since December 16th on the power play with Zdeno Chara screening Cory Schneider. Over the last four periods of hockey, Lucic has a goal and two assists. That’s the Lucic that Bruins fans want to see going forward.

Despite having a new linemate in Reilly Smith, the third line is doing some pretty nice things. Carl Soderberg set up Chris Kelly (playing in his 700th career NHL game) from the slot but Cory Schneider made his best save of the night.

It’s rare to see the Bruins outshooting an opponent these days, but they have a big 18-3 shots on goal advantage through 20 minutes. Then again, they are facing a Devils team who have been outshot in 31 of their 42 games coming into tonight.

The Bruins are 12-5-2 this year when scoring first and 10-3-1 when leading after the first period. The Devils are 5-15-1 when allowing the first goal and 3-8-0 when trailing after 20 minutes.

Pregame quick hits

Greetings from TD Garden where, in a rare instance, the temperature at the rink is warmer than the weather outside.

In any event, the Boston Bruins will look to build off a much needed win over the Pittsburgh Penguins less than 24 hours ago as they host the New Jersey Devils. Niklas Svedberg gets the start for the Black and Gold – his first since December 27th – while Marblehead native Cory Schneider will get the nod between the Devils’ pipes.

Loui Eriksson, who took a slash to the hand in last night’s win, is out tonight. Head coach Claude Julien noted that Eriksson is only expected to be out for the short term.

David Pastrnak, who was recently called up from Providence, will skate for the first time since December. His fellow linemate in Providence, Jordan Caron, will be on the fourth line with Gregory Campbell and Craig Cunningham.

On Boston.com: After call up, Pastrnak needs to stay for good

Here are the Bruins lines per warmups:

Brad Marchand-David Krejci-David Pastrnak
Milan Lucic-Patrice Bergeron-Daniel Paille
Chris Kelly-Carl Soderberg-Reilly Smith
Jordan Caron-Gregory Campbell-Craig Cunningham

Zdeno Chara-Dougie Hamilton
Dennis Seidenberg-Adam McQuaid
Torey Krug-Kevan Miller

Niklas Svedberg
Tuukka Rask

Keep it here for live Bruins-Devils updates and be sure to follow us on Twitter for in-game commentary over at @BruinsDaily.