Berkshire Bank Hockey Night In New England: Projected Bruins-Ducks Lines, Pairings

The Boston Bruins will have to shuffle their lineup as they end their homestand against the Anaheim Ducks.

The B’s have ruled out Matt Grzelcyk from Monday’s game due to an upper-body injury. Grzelcyk suffered the injury Saturday during Boston’s win over the Winnipeg Jets, and head coach Bruce Cassidy said Grzelcyk is day-to-day. Urho Vaakanainen will replace him as Charlie McAvoy’s partner on the Bruins’ top defensive pairing.

Mike Reilly is expected to return from a stint in the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol, which sidelined him for the last three games. He probably will join Brandon Carlo on Boston’s second defensive pairing.

Cassidy will stick with the same forward lines he deployed against the Jets, meaning Anton Blidh will remain out.

Tuukka Rask will start as Bruins goaltender for the second consecutive game.

The Bruins-Ducks game marks the start of a five-game road trip for Anaheim, and the end of seven-game homestand for Boston.

NESN will air Bruins-Ducks in full with pregame coverage starting at 6 p.m. ET. Puck drop from TD Garden is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Here are the teams’ projected lines and defensive pairings:

BOSTON BRUINS (24-12-2)
Brad Marchand–Patrice Bergeron–Craig Smith
Taylor Hall–Erik Haula–David Pastrnak
Jake DeBrusk–Charlie Coyle–Oskar Steen
Nick Foligno–Tomas Nosek–Curtis Lazar

Urho Vaakanainen–Charlie McAvoy
Mike Reilly–Brandon Carlo
Derek Forbort–Connor Clifton

Tuukka Rask

ANAHEIM DUCKS (20-16-7)
Trevor Zegras–Ryan Getzlaf–Rickard Rakell
Derek Grant–Isac Lundestrom–Jakob Silfverberg
Maxime Comtois–Sam Steel–Vinni Lettieri
Nicolas Deslauriers–Sam Carrick–Buddy Robinson

Hampus Lindholm–Jamie Drysdale
Jacob Larsson–Kevin Shattenkirk
Josh Mahura–Greg Pateryn

John Gibson

These projected lines and defensive pairings are presented by Berkshire Bank, the official bank of NESN’s Boston Bruins coverage.