Well, hockey fans, you’ve just about made it.
The 2019-20 NHL season begins Wednesday night, and the Boston Bruins are set to get going Thursday against the Dallas Stars. There are a handful of questions on Boston’s roster, particularly relating to injuries.
Ever since David Krejci suffered a lower-body injury early last week, there hasn’t been a ton of worry expressed from the Bruins that he’d be unavailable for opening night. But in Tuesday’s practice, the veteran center was in a red non-contact jersey, prompting general manager Don Sweeney to classify Krejci as “possible” but not a guarantee for Thursday’s game. Joakim Nordstrom, meanwhile, already has been ruled out, as has John Moore and Kevan Miller, both of whom could potentially end up on long-term injured reserve.
Knowing all that, here’s our final opening night lineup projection before Thursday’s game.
Brad Marchand–Patrice Bergeron–David Pastrnak
Jake DeBrusk–David Krejci–Karson Kuhlman
Danton Heinen–Charlie Coyle–David Backes
Chris Wagner–Sean Kuraly–Brett Ritchie
Zdeno Chara–Charlie McAvoy
Torey Krug–Brandon Carlo
Matt Grzelcyk–Connor Clifton
Tuukka Rask
Jaroslav Halak
Scratches: Par Lindholm, Steven Kampfer
In the event Krejci is unable to play, Lindholm presumably would take his place as the second-line center. Backes and Ritchie could be flipped, but Backes has experience playing on the third line with Coyle and Heinen, so the familiarity there might be worth something.
No matter what, the picture should become clearer Wednesday based on Krejci’s availability, or lack thereof, in practice.
