BOSTON -- In tonight's game against Anaheim, the Bruins expect to see a familiar style of play.

"They pride themselves on working hard and being physical," defenseman Derek Morris, who battled the Ducks for years in the Pacific Division, said Thursday after the Bruins' morning skate. "And obviously when we don't do it, we don't play well. They're a little bit more freewheeling than us. We're a little bit tighter system-wise. But the work ethic is the same."

Bruins coach Claude Julien agreed. "They are an in-your-face kind of hockey club. They have good size, they are a physical team, so there is a lot of resemblance right there. They are a character team too, that much I know. Over the years with Randy's teams, no matter who, he has made those guys go at it hard, and play hard every night.'' One difference between this Randy Carlyle-coached squad and previous ones (including the '07 Stanley Cup-winning team) is the absence of giant defenseman Chris Pronger and puck-moving blue-liner Francois Beauchemin. Pronger was traded to Philadelphia and Beauchemin signed with Toronto over the summer.

The change might have contributed to Anaheim's 0-1-1 start.

"It's a big difference when you take guys that are 20-plus minutes a night out of your lineup," Carlyle said. "So other people have to share in those minutes. And that's what we're trying to find is the right combination to spread those minutes evenly through our top six. Obviously, Scott Niedermayer's going to play a lot. (Ryan) Whitney and (James) Wisniewski are going to play a lot. So we're looking again for (Luca) Sbisa, (Steve) Eminger, (Nick) Boynton, and (Sheldon) Brookbank to step in and share some more of those minutes. Right now, we're still a work in progress."

In addition to future Hall-of-Famer Niedermayer and a couple other veteran defenseman, the Ducks, who only come to Boston once a year, also have one of the league's premier scoring lines with Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, and Bobby Ryan.

"The thing with (the Ducks), you've got to work as hard as them," said Morris. "They have a great power play. If you can keep them off the power play, score on yours, you'll do all right."

Note: Tim Thomas was the first Bruins goaltender off the ice after the skate, and Jonas Hiller was the same for Anaheim, so that should be your netminder matchup tonight.

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