The Boston Bruins will dress two goaltenders Saturday night for their visit to Joe Louis Arena, but their net will belong to Malcolm Subban and Subban alone.
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Subban will play the entirety of Boston’s preseason matchup with the Detroit Red Wings, head coach Claude Julien told reporters after Saturday’s morning skate at Ristuccia Arena.
Jeremy Smith, who played all 65 minutes of Thursday’s 4-3 shootout win over the New York Rangers and finished with 22 saves, will serve as Subban’s backup.
“(I’m) really looking forward to it,” Subban told reporters, via the Bruins’ official website. “It will be pretty cool. Last time I played in Detroit was a few years ago, (and it) didn’t go too well, so I’m hoping to have a better outcome this time.”
The performance the 21-year-old was referring to came during the 2013 preseason, when the Wings put eight goals past him in an 8-2 win. Subban was much more effective in his 2015 preseason debut, stopping all 17 shots he faced in Tuesday’s win over the Washington Capitals.
Elsewhere in Saturday’s lineup, the Bruins’ top line of Matt Beleskey, David Krejci and David Pastrnak remains intact from Tuesday’s game, while the rest of the forward corps has undergone some mixing and matching.
Noel Acciari, who won a national championship with Providence College earlier this year, will make his preseason NHL debut, centering Boston’s fourth line between Anthony Camara and Brett Connolly.
Here’s the full rundown of expected lines and pairings, as reported by the Bruins:
Matt Beleskey — David Krejci — David Pastrnak
Jake DeBrusk — Chris Kelly — Justin Hickman
Anton Blidh — Alex Khokhlachev — Brian Ferlin
Anthony Camara — Noel Acciari — Brett Connolly
Torey Krug — Zach Trotman
Linus Arnesson — Kevan Miller
Tommy Cross — Brandon Carlo
Extra defenseman: Ben Youds
Malcolm Subban
Jeremy Smith
Thumbnail photo via Greg M. Cooper/USA TODAY Sports Images
