BOSTON — The Minnesota Wild enter Tuesday night’s game against the Bruins at TD Garden with a lineup hurt by injuries.
Wild forward Erik Haula and defenseman Jonas Brodin will not play, per NHL.com’s Matt Kalman. Haula took a hit to the head by New York Rangers defenseman John Moore in Monday’s matchup at Madison Square Garden. Brodin was boarded by Rangers forward Chris Kreider but returned to the game. Both Moore and Kreider were ejected.
Michael Russo of the Minnesota Star-Tribune reports Wild backup Niklas Backstrom will start in net after starting goalie Darcy Kuemper played Monday night.
One Wild forward Bruins fans will immediately recognize Tuesday is Thomas Vanek. The Austrian winger has dominated Boston throughout his career, posting 62 points (30 goals, 32 assists) in 50 games against the Original Six club.
No lineup changes are expected for the Bruins after an impressive 4-1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night. Expect forward prospect Seth Griffith to remain on the top line alongside David Krejci and Milan Lucic to start the game.
Here are the expected lines and pairing for both teams.
BOSTON BRUINS (5-5-0, 4th in Atlantic)
Milan Lucic-David Krejci-Seth Griffith
Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-Reilly Smith
Chris Kelly-Carl Soderberg-Loui Eriksson
Daniel Paille-Gregory Campbell-Simon Gagne
Extra: Matt Fraser
Dennis Seidenberg-Dougie Hamilton
Adam McQuaid-Torey Krug
Matt Bartkowski-Zach Trotman
Tuukka Rask or Niklas Svedberg
MINNESOTA WILD (4-3-0, 4th in Central)
Zach Parise-Mikael Granlund-Jason Pominville
Jason Zucker-Mikko Koivu-Nino Neiderreiter
Thomas Vanek-Charlie Coyle-Justin Fontaine
Matt Cooke-Kyle Brodziak-Ryan Carter
Ryan Suter-Jared Spurgeon
Marco Scandella-Justin Falk
Mathew Dumba-Nate Prosser
Niklas Backstrom
Photo via Jerry Lai/USA TODAY Sports Images
