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

The Boston Bruins will be down one defenseman Monday night in Florida as they begin a key divisional back-to-back.

Kevan Miller did not travel with the team after sustaining an upper body injury during Saturday night’s overtime loss to the Washington Capitals. He will miss Monday’s and Tuesday’s games against the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning, respectively, and is considered day to day.

Zach Trotman, who has sat out Boston’s last eight games as a healthy scratch, is expected to replace Miller in the lineup and join Zdeno Chara on the Bruins’ top defensive pairing. Chara was not present at Monday’s morning skate but is expected to play against Florida, head coach Claude Julien told reporters.

The Panthers, meanwhile, will benefit from the return of top-line winger Jonathan Huberdeau, who has missed the last six games with an upper body injury. Huberdeau and linemates Aleksander Barkov and Jaromir Jagr all rank among Florida’s top four in scoring this season, with 44-year-old Jagr leading the way with 48 points (21 goals, 27 assists).

The Panthers have led the Atlantic Division for much of the season but recently slipped to second. They enter Monday night two points back of the Lightning and one ahead of the Bruins, whom they have yet to defeat this season. Boston won each of the teams’ first two meetings by a combined score of 6-2.

UPDATE (7:30 p.m. ET): Trotman did return to the lineup but skated on the third pairing, with Adam McQuaid moving up to join Chara.

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

BOSTON BRUINS (36-23-7)
Brad Marchand — Patrice Bergeron — Lee Stempniak
Loui Eriksson — David Krejci — David Pastrnak
Matt Beleskey — Ryan Spooner — Jimmy Hayes
Landon Ferraro — Noel Acciari — Brett Connolly

Zdeno Chara — Adam McQuaid
Torey Krug — Dennis Seidenberg
John-Michael Liles — Zach Trotman

Tuukka Rask

FLORIDA PANTHERS (36-21-8)
Jonathan Huberdeau — Aleksander Barkov — Jaromir Jagr
Jussi Jokinen — Vincent Trocheck — Reilly Smith
Kyle Rau — Nick Bjugstad — Jiri Hudler
Quinton Howden — Logan Shaw — Shawn Thornton

Dmitry Kulikov — Aaron Ekblad
Brian Campbell — Erik Gudbranson
Jakub Kindl — Alex Petrovic

Roberto Luongo

Thumbnail photo via Robert Mayer/USA TODAY Sports Images