Berkshire Bank Hockey Night In New England: Projected Bruins-Islanders Lines, Pairings
After a thrilling win over the Vegas Golden Knights at TD Garden, the Bruins head off on the road to take on the New York Islanders.
Morgan Geekie notched his first career hat trick in Thursday’s win, and Mason Lohrei stepped up and scored the go-ahead goal with less than five minutes left in the contest. The victory snapped a three-game losing streak, and Boston will hope for another win over the Islanders after beating them 5-2 on Nov. 9 and in a shootout on Dec. 15.
Justin Brazeau and Matt Grzelcyk are dealing with “general soreness” and will miss Saturday’s matchup. Marc McLaughlin, who was recalled from Providence on an emergency basis Friday, will take Brazeau’s spot on the fourth line. And Derek Forbort will pair with Charlie McAvoy in place of Grzelcyk. Linus Ullmark will get the nod between the pipes after Swayman started Thursday.
Puck drop at UBS Arena is scheduled at 7:30 p.m. ET, and you can catch full coverage on NESN starting at 6:30.
Here are the projected lines and defensive pairings for the Bruins and Islanders.
BOSTON BRUINS (35-12-14)
Brad Marchand — Charlie Coyle — David Pastrnak
James van Riemsdyk — Pavel Zacha — Jake DeBrusk
Danton Heinen — Morgan Geekie — Trent Frederic
Jakub Lauko — Jesper Boqvist — Marc McLaughlin
Derek Forbort — Charlie McAvoy
Mason Lohrei — Brandon Carlo
Parker Wotherspoon — Kevin Shattenkirk
Linus Ullmark
NEW YORK ISLANDERS (25-20-14)
Brock Nelson — Bo Horvat — Mathew Barzal
Pierre Engvall — Casey Cizikas – Simon Holmstrom
Anders Lee– Jean-Gabriel Pageau — Kyle Palmieri
Matt Martin — Kyle MacLean — Cal Clutterbuck
Adam Pelech — Noah Dobson
Alexander Romanov — Ryan Pulock
Mike Reilly – Sebastian Aho
Ilya Sorokin
Presented by Berkshire Bank, the official bank of NESN’s Boston Bruins coverage.