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

The Boston Bruins will look to rebound from their humbling opening-night loss Saturday as they welcome the Montreal Canadiens to TD Garden.

A lineup change is expected for the Bruins, as Colin Miller likely will replace Zach Trotman on Boston’s third defensive pairing. The pairing of Trotman and Matt Irwin struggled mightily in Thursday’s 6-2 loss to the Winnipeg Jets.

Irwin is expected to shift up to the second pairing, where he’ll skate with Kevan Miller, while Joe Morrow joins Colin Miller, who has yet to play in an NHL game, on the third.

Defenseman Zdeno Chara, who missed Thursday’s opener, is expected to sit once again as he continues to recover from an upper body injury. Head coach Claude Julien at morning skate described the 38-year-old’s status as “doubtful.”

Here are projected lines and pairings for Saturday night, as reported by the teams:

BOSTON BRUINS (0-1-0)
Brad Marchand — Patrice Bergeron — Loui Eriksson
Matt Beleskey — David Krejci — David Pastrnak
Jimmy Hayes — Ryan Spooner — Brett Connolly
Chris Kelly — Joonas Kemppainen — Zac Rinaldo

Torey Krug — Adam McQuaid
Matt Irwin — Kevan Miller
Joe Morrow — Colin Miller

Tuukka Rask

MONTREAL CANADIENS (1-0-0)
Max Pacioretty — Tomas Plekanec — Brendan Gallagher
Lars Eller — Alex Galchenyuk — Alexander Semin
Tomas Fleischmann — David Desharnais — Dale Weise
Brian Flynn — Torrey Mitchell — Devante Smith-Pelly

Andrei Markov — P.K. Subban
Alexei Emelin — Jeff Petry
Nathan Beaulieu — Tom Gilbert

Carey Price

Thumbnail photo via Anthony Gruppuso/USA TODAY Sports Images