BOSTON — Sixty minutes of hockey separate the Bruins from a nice six-day vacation.
Boston hosts the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday night in its final game before the NHL’s All-Star break, and a win would allow Claude Julien’s squad to surge past the Detroit Red Wings and into second place in the Atlantic Division.
The Bruins knocked off the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2 on Monday night for their fifth win in six games, and because they did not hold a morning skate Tuesday, it remains unclear which lineup Julien will ice against the Ducks. The coach frequently has shuffled his line combinations of late as he attempts to optimize the talents of his newly healthy forward corps.
Backup goalie Jonas Gustavsson likely will start for Boston after Tuukka Rask got the nod Monday night. Gustavsson has allowed two goals or fewer in four of his last five appearances, with the Bruins winning all four.
Winger Matt Beleskey, who signed a five-year contract with the Bruins this past summer after seven seasons in the Ducks organization, will be facing his former team for the first time .
The Ducks have underachieved this season and sit outside the playoff picture in the Western Conference, but they enter Tuesday having won five of their last seven games. They will be without Shawn Horcoff for the game after the veteran center was suspended 20 games Tuesday for violating the NHL’s performance-enhancing drug policy.
UPDATE (6:45 p.m. ET): The Bruins made just one change to their lineup, replacing Zac Rinaldo with Landon Ferraro on the fourth line.
Here are Tuesday projected lines and pairings:
BOSTON BRUINS (26-17-5)
Brad Marchand — Patrice Bergeron — Brett Connolly
Ryan Spooner — David Krejci — Loui Eriksson
Matt Beleskey — Joonas Kemppainen — David Pastrnak
Landon Ferraro — Max Talbot — Jimmy Hayes
Zdeno Chara — Zach Trotman
Joe Morrow — Dennis Seidenberg
Torey Krug — Kevan Miller
Jonas Gustavsson
ANAHEIM DUCKS (21-18-7)
David Perron — Ryan Getzlaf — Chris Stewart
Patrick Maroon — Rickard Rakell — Corey Perry
Andrew Cogliano — Ryan Kesler — Jakob Silfverberg
Mike Santorelli — Nate Thompson — Ryan Garbutt
Hampus Lindholm — Josh Manson
Sami Vatanen — Kevin Bieksa
Shea Theodore — Simon Despres
Frederik Andersen
Thumbnail photo via Greg M. Cooper/USA TODAY Sports Images
