This week, the Bruins got back-to-back wins against Canadian teams, including a dominating 8-1 victory over the Montreal Canadiens. They will look to keep the momentum going this afternoon as they host the Rangers.
Ahead of the matinee against New York, Bruce Cassidy had some bad news for Bruins fans. Patrice Bergeron who recently came back from injury will miss today's game. Cassidy says his injury situation is evaluated day-to-day. Bergeron should return quite soon, but for now, the Bruins will have to cope for the absence of their number one centerman.
Cassidy also announced that Jack Strudnicka and Connor Clifton would be back in the lineup. That means that Steven Kampfer and Brendan Gaunce should be left out of the lineup.
Jaroslav Halak will get the start in front of the Bruins' net as Tuukka Rask is given a rest.
Cassidy had to shake things up on offense. Charlie Coyle will step up as the first line center alongside Brad Marchand and Danton Heinen in Bergeron's absence. David Pastrnak will play on the 2nd offensive line with David Krejci and Jake DeBrusk.
Here is the Bruins' projected lineup for this afternoon's matchup against the Rangers:
Forwards:
Brad Marchand - Charlie Coyle - Danton Heinen
Jake DeBrusk - David Krejci - David Pastrnak
Anders Bjork - Sean Kuraly - Chris Wagner
Joakim Nordstrom - Par Lindholm - Jack Studnicka
Defensemen:
Zdeno Chara - Charlie McAvoy
Torey Krug - Brandon Carlo
Matt Grzelcyk - Connor Clifton
Goaltenders:
Jaroslav Halak
Tuukka Rask
Brandan Gaunce and Steven Kampfer are set to be healthy scratches while Bergeron, David Backes, John Moore, Kevan Miller, Karson Kuhlman, Brett Ritchie and Zach Senyshyn are all out with injuries.