Things got a little thin on the Boston blue-line during Saturday’s contest against the Penguins when Steve Kampfer joined the injury brigade after being smashed with a high-stick that shattered the 22-year-old’s nose, forcing him to leave a contest that saw the Bruins already shorthanded on the backend without Andrew Ference .

Fortunately for the Bruins, help is on the way with the return of a forearm-shivering staple from the point with the return of Mark Stuart.

A spectator for the last 18 contests, Stuart’s activatation off Boston’s injured reserve while rookie Matt Bartkowski was sent back to Providence early Sunday afternoon can only indicate one thing--Stuart’s ready to go.

And while Stuart’s not going to address the power-play woes, there’s one thing the 26-year-old does provide, and that’s stability.

But while the return to the line-up provides a feel good story for the B’s and the suddenly-injury-riddled Stuart, the task at hand is trying to slow down a speedy Hurricanes team that torched the Bruins to the tune of 3-0 back on Black Friday.

Simple? Regardless of the Hurricanes’ record, it’ll be anything but.

Scoring all three of their goals against Boston this season on the man-advantage, the ‘Canes arrive to the Hub for the first of a home-and-home as a team that’s won seven out of their last ten, including four efforts that featured four or more goals from the always creative Carolina offense.

Also working against Boston in this contest is some good ole’ fashioned meaningless history as the Bruins have lost their signature Martin Luther King Jr. Day matinee in two straight years now, and have not performed well in matinee contests this season, posting an 0-2-0 record this season.

THE STATS DON’T LIE

- Michael Ryder has two goals and nine shots on goal in his last two contests.

- Boston‘s Dennis Seidenberg has two goals and five assists in eight January games.

- B’s winger Nathan Horton has one goal in his last 14 games.

- Erik Cole has 13 goals in 26 career games against the Bruins.

- ‘Canes rookie Jeff Skinner has eight points in his last five games.

- Joni Pitkanen has zero points and is a minus-4 over his last eight contests.

WHO’S GOT THE EDGE?

Goals For per Game: Bruins (2.93) over Hurricanes (2.92)
Goals Against per Game: Bruins (2.15) over Hurricanes (2.92)
Power-Play Percentage: Hurricanes (18.9%) over Bruins (16.9%)
Penalty-Kill Percentage: Bruins (84.9%) over Hurricanes (79.2%)
Leading Scorer: Hurricanes (E. Staal - 44pts) over Bruins (P. Bergeron - 36pts)
Season Series: Carolina leads 1-0 (a 3-0 win over Boston back on 11/26)
Last 10 Games: Hurricanes (7-1-2) over Bruins (5-2-3)

GOALTENDING BREAKDOWN

Boston: With no confirmation as to who will be in net, the B's could (obviously) opt to go with the well-rested Tim Thomas, or give Tuukka Rask his second straight start after a solid showing in a losing effort to the Penguins. If the B's go to Thomas, the 36-year-old would enter play looking for his eighth career win against the Hurricanes in his 17th start against the Raleigh-based franchise. On the other hand, the Finnish Rask has a 2-0-0 career record against the 'Canes with a .931 save-percentage. I say give this one to Tuukka.

Carolina: It'd be a shock to see anybody besides Cam Ward in net for the Hurricanes. The Saskatchewan-native, who stopped all 37 Boston shots he faced in his last outing against the Bruins, is coming off a rather messy win where he stopped 30 of 34 against the high-powered Bolts.

GAME-BREAKERS

Boston: Even with the return of Stuart, the focus on getting more strong contributions from Dennis Seidenberg has to be there. For the 29-year-old German defensemen, the month of January has been more than fruitful in terms of offensive production. Already putting up more points in January than in any other month this season, Seidenberg's game has rounded back to the form it was prior to his season-ending injury suffered at the end of the 2009-10 season.

Carolina: Usually when you come back from an injury, it's a matter of taking things slow and getting your feet back under you. Unless you're Carolina winger Jussi Jokinen. In three games back from injury, the 27-year-old has scored four goals, two of which coming on the power-play, and added three assists. And with seven points in 11 career contests against the Bruins, Jokinen could continue the play the role of silent assassin for the 'Canes.

NEWS & NOTES

- Bruins defensemen Steve Kampfer seems like a go to play in today's contest. Suffering a broken nose on Saturday, Kampfer will play with a full-cage--something that won't be foreign to Kampfer, as the former Michigan Wolverine is not even a full calendar year removed from playing in the NCAA.

- Milan Lucic is questionable for this game and will likely be a game-time decision.

- It'll be interesting to see how the Bruins' expected top-line of Horton, Ryder, and Marc Savard perform after the trio combined for 17 of Boston's 46 shots in Saturday's losing effort. The group seems on the cusp of a breakout...but then again, we've been saying that regarding Horton and Savard for weeks now.

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