BOSTON — The Bruins’ offense could receive a much-needed boost Thursday night against the Anaheim Ducks.
Veteran center David Krejci could make his return — probably as a winger on the Patrice Bergeron line — after a 15-game absence with a partially torn MCL in his left knee. Krejci is probable for Bruins-Ducks and a final decision on his status will be made after he skates in the pre-game warmup, per head coach Claude Julien.
If Krejci does return, then we could see Brian Ferlin, Daniel Paille and Brett Connolly (fractured finger) scratched. These three were extra forwards at Boston’s morning skate Thursday. No changes are expected to be made to the Bruins’ pairings.
As for the Ducks, Cam Fowler will return to the blue line after being a healthy scratch for the first time in his NHL career in Tuesday’s loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets. The 23-year-old is a top pairing-caliber defenseman with 31 points in 73 games this season.
Ducks defensemen James Wisniewski and Korbinian Holzer are expected to be scratches.
Chris Wagner, a Walpole, Mass. native, will enter the lineup for the Ducks as a fourth-line forward. Ducks head coach Bruce Boudreau said the team wanted someone with more “grit” and “sandpaper” in the lineup, both of which Wagner can provide.
Frederik Andersen likely will start in net for Anaheim. The Danish goaltender is 1-0 with a .941 save percentage in one career start versus the Bruins.
Here are the projected lineups for both teams:
BOSTON BRUINS (36-25-12, fifth in Atlantic)
Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-David Krejci
Milan Lucic-Ryan Spooner-David Pastrnak
Reilly Smith-Carl Soderberg-Loui Eriksson
Chris Kelly-Gregory Campbell-Max Talbot
Zdeno Chara-Adam McQuaid
Dennis Seidenberg-Torey Krug
Matt Bartkowski-Zach Trotman
Tuukka Rask
ANAHEIM DUCKS (46-22-7, first in Pacific)
Jiri Sekac-Ryan Getzlaf-Corey Perry
Matt Beleskey-Ryan Kesler-Kyle Palmieri
Patrick Maroon-Rickard Rakell-Jakob Silfverberg
Andrew Cogliano-Nate Thompson-Chris Wagner
Hampus Lindholm-Francois Beauchemin
Cam Fowler-Simon Despres
Clayton Stoner-Sami Vatanen
Frederik Andersen
Click to read our Bruins-Ducks preview>>
Thumbnail photo via Greg M. Cooper/USA TODAY Sports Images
