The Boston Bruins take on the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday night in the third game of their five-game road trip, and the focus of the matchup is who will start in net for the B’s.
Boston’s top goaltending prospect, Malcolm Subban, was recalled by the team earlier in the week and is expected to start at least one game on this road trip.
Bruins head coach Claude Julien wouldn’t confirm anything to reporters Wednesday morning when asked if Subban or No. 1 goalie Tuukka Rask would get the start.
The choice isn’t as easy as it seems. On the one hand, it makes sense to give the 2012 first-round pick his first NHL start against the Oilers. Edmonton ranks 25th or worse in goals scored per game, goals against average and both special teams units.
That said, the Bruins have lost four straight games and desperately need these two points. Rask is among the NHL’s top goaltenders and gives Boston the best chance for a victory Wednesday night.
We’ll have to wait until the pre-game warmup for a better indication of which netminder will start.
The other notable lineup item for the Bruins is Kevan Miller’s absence. He suffered an injury in Monday night’s loss to the Calgary Flames and was sent back to Boston for medical tests. The Bruins didn’t recall a defenseman to take his place, so it appears Matt Bartkowski will enter the lineup for the second straight game. Bartkowski played Monday for the first time since Dec. 31.
Here are the projected lineups for both teams.
BOSTON BRUINS (28-20-8, fourth in Atlantic)
Milan Lucic-David Krejci-Reilly Smith
Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-Loui Eriksson
Chris Kelly-Carl Soderberg-David Pastrnak
Daniel Paille-Gregory Campbell-Craig Cunningham
Zdeno Chara-Dougie Hamilton
Matt Bartkowski-Dennis Seidenberg
Torey Krug-Adam McQuaid
Tuukka Rask
EDMONTON OILERS (16-32-10, seventh in Pacific)
Teddy Purcell-Ryan Nugent-Hopkins-Jordan Eberle
Benoit Pouliot-Anton Lander-Iiro Pakarinen
Ryan Hamilton-Derek Roy-Nail Yakupov
Matt Hendricks-Boyd Gordon-Matt Fraser
Jeff Petry-Andrew Ference
Oscar Klefbom-Justin Schultz
Martin Marincin-Mark Fayne
Ben Scrivens
Thumbnail photo via Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports ImagesÂ
