Berkshire Bank Faceoff: Projected Lines, Pairings For Bruins-Sabres

The Boston Bruins enter Thursday night’s game in Buffalo hoping to bounce back from consecutive humbling losses.

The Bruins got smoked by the Anaheim Ducks in their final game before the NHL All-Star break, then fell in overtime to the Toronto Maple Leafs six days later.

Their opponent Thursday will be the struggling Sabres, who handed Boston one of its worst losses this season back on Dec. 26. Buffalo got four points from rookie Jack Eichel in that game and racked up five third-period goals en route to a 6-3 win at TD Garden.

The Atlantic Division foes’ next meeting turned out much better for the B’s, however, as Claude Julien’s squad routed the Sabres 4-1 last month at the First Niagara Center.

Boston will look to maintain possession of the Eastern Conference’s first wild-card playoff spot Thrusday night, while Buffalo has won two in a row but still sits in second-to-last in the Atlantic.

Here are the projected lines and pairings, as reported by the teams:

BOSTON BRUINS (26-18-6)
Brad Marchand — Patrice Bergeron — Brett Connolly
Loui Eriksson — David Krejci — David Pastrnak
Matt Beleskey — Ryan Spooner — Jimmy Hayes
Zac Rinaldo — Max Talbot — Landon Ferraro

Zdeno Chara — Zach Trotman
Dennis Seidenberg — Colin Miller
Torey Krug — Kevan Miller

Tuukka Rask

BUFFALO SABRES (21-26-4)
Jamie McGinn — Ryan O’Reilly — Sam Reinhart
Zemgus Girgensons — Jack Eichel — Marcus Foligno
Evander Kane — Johan Larsson — Brian Gionta
Matt Moulson — David Legwand — Nicolas Deslauriers

Josh Gorges — Rasmus Ristolainen
Zach Bogosian — Mark Pysyk
Jake McCabe — Cody Franson

Chad Johnson

Thumbnail photo via Timothy T. Ludwig/USA TODAY Sports Images