Berkshire Bank Hockey Night In New England: Projected Bruins-Devils Lines, Pairings
The Bruins on Saturday will face the New Jersey Devils in the final home game of the calendar year.
Boston returned to form in its win over the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center on Wednesday. The victory snapped a four-game winless streak, and the Bruins are expected to add more firepower to the lineup.
The Bruins on Friday called up Georgii Merkulov amid a hot run in the AHL this month. Head coach Jim Montgomery praised the forward’s 200-foot game, and Merkulov’s addition will change things up across the lineup.
Merkulov is expected to center the third line with James van Riemsdyk and Trent Frederic. Morgan Geekie will center the first line with Pavel Zacha and David Pastrnak. And Charlie Coyle centers the second line with Brad Marchand and Jake DeBrusk. Danton Heinen will slot into the fourth line with John Beecher and Jakub Lauko.
Matt Grzelcyk is expected to return to the lineup after missing the last three games. He’ll pair with Kevin Shattenkirk. Oskar Steen and Parker Wotherspoon are healthy scratches, and Linus Ullmark will get the nod in the front end of a weekend back-to-back set.
These teams last played on Dec 13 at Prudential Center where the Devils beat the Bruins in overtime. New Jersey is playing on the second night of a back-to-back after beating the Ottawa Senators, 6-2, at Canadian Tire Centre.
Puck drop at TD Garden is scheduled at 7 p.m. ET, and you can catch full coverage of Bruins-Devils on NESN starting with pregame at 6 p.m.
Here are the projected lines and defensive pairings for both sides.
BOSTON BRUINS (20-7-6)
Pavel Zacha — Morgan Geekie — David Pastrnak
Brad Marchand — Charlie Coyle — Jake DeBrusk
James van Riemsdyk — Georgii Merkulov — Trent Frederic
Danton Heinen — John Beecher — Jakub Lauko
Mason Lohrei — Charlie McAvoy
Hampus Lindholm — Brandon Carlo
Matt Grzelcyk — Kevin Shattenkirk
Linus Ullmark
NEW JERSEY DEVILS (19-13-2)
Tyler Toffoli — Jack Hughes — Jesper Bratt
Ondrej Palat — Nico Hischier — Erik Haula
Timo Meier — Michael McLeod — Dawson Mercer
Nathan Bastian — Chris Tierney — Alexander Holtz
Jonas Siegenthaler — Simon Nemec
Luke Hughes — John Marino
Kevin Bahl — Brendan Smith
Vitek Vanecek