Berkshire Bank Faceoff: Projected Lines, Pairings For Bruins-Predators

The Boston Bruins will be without their top-line center for Tuesday night’s road game against the Nashville Predators.

David Krejci will miss his 11th consecutive game, Bruins coach Claude Julien told Steve Conroy of The Boston Herald. Krejci has played in just 11 of Boston’s first 30 games this season, and the team’s offense scores more than a goal per game when he’s in the lineup.

Krejci’s absence likely will result in Chris Kelly centering a line with Milan Lucic and Craig Cunningham on the wings. This trio played well in Saturday’s 3-2 shootout loss to the Ottawa Senators at TD Garden.

Young defenseman Joe Morrow is expected to return to the Bruins’ blue line after missing the last two games as a healthy scratch. He also skated at the point on the first power-play unit during Monday’s practice at the Garden.

The Predators have been patient with Swedish winger Filip Forsberg, and it has paid off this season. The rookie forward, who was acquired from the Washington Capitals during the 2012-13 campaign in one of the most lopsided trades in recent memory, leads the Predators in scoring (29 points) and goals (12). He’s expected to play with Mike Ribeiro and James Neal on Nashville’s top line, a trio that probably will match up against Boston’s top defensive pairing of Zdeno Chara and Dougie Hamilton.

Here are the projected lines and pairings for Bruins-Predators:

BOSTON BRUINS (15-13-2, sixth in Atlantic)
Milan Lucic-Chris Kelly-Craig Cunningham
Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-Reilly Smith
Matt Fraser-Carl Soderbrg-Loui Eriksson
Daniel Paille-Gregory Campbell-Seth Griffith

Zdeno Chara-Dougie Hamilton
Dennis Seidenberg-Joe Morrow
Torey Krug-Kevan Miller

Tuukka Rask

NASHVILLE PREDATORS (19-8-2, third in Central)
Filip Forsberg-Mike Ribeiro-James Neal
Colin Wilson-Mike Fisher-Matt Cullen
Derek Roy-Calle Jarnkrok-Craig Smith
Eric Nystrom-Olli Jokinen-Gabriel Bourque

Roman Josi-Shea Weber
Mattias Ekholm-Ryan Ellis
Anton Volchenkov-Seth Jones

Pekka Rinne