BOSTON — The Bruins will try to get back in the win column Saturday afternoon against the Carolina Hurricanes following a two-game road trip in which Boston lost to the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens by a combined score of 11-2.
The Hurricanes didn’t win a single game in October with an 0-6-2 record. They’ve greatly improved in November with a 5-1-1 mark. The difference for Carolina has been the healthy return of top-six forwards Eric Staal and Jeff Skinner, who both missed multiple games in the first month of the campaign. The forwards have combined for three goals and three assists in the last four games.
Carolina is hoping sophomore center Elias Lindholm will be able to play against the Bruins. He has battled a “foot issue” recently, per Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News and Observer.
The Bruins’ forward lines probably will remain the same as they were Thursday night against the Canadiens. It’s possible the defense pairings could be switched up a bit after two poor defensive performances on the past road trip. The B’s haven’t announced any changes, but 98.5 The Sports Hub radio play-by-play man Dave Goucher sent this tweet Saturday morning.
[tweet https://twitter.com/DavidCGoucher/status/533623105378217985 align=”center”]
Backup goaltender Niklas Svedberg started Thursday, so don’t be surprised if Tuukka Rask returns to the net against the Hurricanes.
Here are the expected lines and pairings for both teams:
BOSTON BRUINS (10-8-0, 6th in Atlantic)
Milan Lucic-Chris Kelly-Seth Griffith
Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-Reilly Smith
Matt Fraser-Carl Soderberg-Loui Eriksson
Daniel Paille-Gregory Campbell-Simon Gagne
Dennis Seidenberg-Dougie Hamilton
Torey Krug-Matt Bartkowski/Zach Trotman
Joe Morrow-Adam McQuaid
Tuukka Rask or Niklas Svedberg
CAROLINA HURRICANES (5-7-3, 7th in Metropolitan Division)
Jiri Tlusty-Eric Staal-Zach Boychuk
Nathan Gerbe-Riley Nash-Alexander Semin
Jeff Skinner-Victor Rask-Chris Terry
Pat Dwyer-Jay McClement-Brad Malone
Andrej Sekera-Justin Faulk
Jay Harrison-Tim Gleason
John-Michael Liles-Ron Hainsey
Cam Ward or Anton Khudobin
Photo via Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports Images
