I was surprised and then not that Brian Elliott got the nod from coach Cory Clouston to start against the Bruins. There are a few reasons for that.



First, Elliott hasn't had a start since Pascal Leclaire's return, and you want to keep your backup in tip-top shape. You never know when another errant puck or collapsing player will take your main guy out again. While lecalire was solid of late, he was rather dismal against Philly, and a sit down might do him some good. Not in the sense that he needs to be punished, but in the sense that it's a team effort, and sometimes you have to let the other guy play.

Next, is that Elliott was getting pretty solid before Lecalir's return, and managed to show some pretty good goaltending for the long streak of games where he shouldered the primary goalie responsibilities.

But finally, I think the last word came down to Clouston giving Elliott another shot at the Bruins. Elliot is currently 0 for 4 against them and that has got to stick in his craw to no end. Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but I would love to have it confirmed that Elliott got the nod so he could backtend for a winning team against their current nemesis.