Bruins-Ducks Projected Lines, Pairings: D-Corps Still Shaken Up
The Bruins will return to the ice on Saturday, taking part in their first game since the 4 Nations Face-Off against the Anaheim Ducks at TD Garden.
Boston didn’t exactly get healthier over the break, though.
Charlie McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm will be out of the lineup, with the former suffering a serious injury during the international tournament and the latter remaining absent with a lower-body injury. Michael Callahan and Parker Wotherspoon will play in their absence, while Jordan Oesterle is on standby in case Mason Lohrei can’t play with his illness.
“Everybody needs to step up, that’s just the way it is right now,” Bruins interim head coach Joe Sacco said on Saturday, per team-provided transcript. “We’ve played without Lindy for a long time now, Charlie’s missed some games leading up to the break there, missed about seven games. We were able to hold our own, we did a decent job.
“It’s just about the group sticking together and really trying to elevate or just take on a little bit more responsibility. When you have (Brandon) Carlo and (Nikita) Zadorov, two veteran guys, you’re going to lean on those guys a little bit more in those situations.”
Boston and Anaheim are set to drop the puck at 7 p.m. ET, following an hour of pregame coverage on NESN.
We have the projected lines and defensive pairings for both sides:
BOSTON BRUINS (27-24-6)
Morgan Geekie — Pavel Zacha — David Pastrnak
Brad Marchand — Elias Lindholm — Charlie Coyle
Trent Frederic — Matthew Poitras — Justin Brazeau
Riley Tufte — John Beecher — Mark Kastelic
Nikita Zadorov — Andrew Peeke
Michael Callahan — Brandon Carlo
Parker Wotherspoon — Jordan Oesterle
Jeremy Swayman
ANAHEIM DUCKS (24-24-6)
Trevor Zegras — Leo Carlsson — Alex Killorn
Frank Vatrano — Ryan Strome — Troy Terry
Cutter Gauthier — Mason McTavish — Robby Fabbri
Ross Johnston — Isac Lundestrom — Brett Leason
Jackson Lacombe — Radko Gudas
Olen Zellweger — Jacob Trouba
Brian Dumoulin — Drew Helleson
John Gibson