The Boston Bruins have been unable to catch a break with injuries this season, and their lineup Tuesday night illustrates their recent strife quite well.
The Bruins will be without Matt Grzelcyk, David Pastrnak, Jake DeBrusk and Kevan Miller for their clash with the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena. As such, Trent Frederic and Steven Kampfer will get shots in the lineup Tuesday.
Frederic, who was recalled Tuesday morning on an emergency basis, will center the third line with Joakim Nordstrom and David Backes on his wings. Charlie Coyle will bump up to the second line right wing as a result.
As for the blue line, Kampfer will join John Moore on the third pairing. It’s been quite a while since Kampfer has seen game action, as he’s been a healthy scratch for quite literally months, with his last game coming Dec. 23rd against the Carolina Hurricanes.
The Blue Jackets, who are clinging to the last Eastern Conference wild card spot, feature a handful of ex-Bruins. Adam McQuaid, who was sent to the New York Rangers this past offseason for a draft pick and Kampfer and was acquired by the Blue Jackets at the trade deadline, will skate on Columbus’ third defensive pairing. Former B’s third-line center Riley Nash also plays for Columbus, but poor performance throughout the season has resulted in him being healthy scratched.
Tuukka Rask will be in net for the B’s, while the Blue Jackets will counter with Sergei Bobrovsky.
Here are the projected lines and defense pairings for Tuesday night’s Bruins-Blue Jackets game:
BOSTON BRUINS (42-18-9)
Brad Marchand–Patrice Bergeron–Danton Heinen
Peter Cehlarik–David Krejci–Charlie Coyle
Joakim Nordstrom–Trent Frederic–David Backes
Sean Kuraly–Noel Acciari–Chris Wagner
Zdeno Chara–Charlie McAvoy
Torey Krug–Brandon Carlo
John Moore–Steven Kampfer
Tuukka Rask
COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS (38-28-3)
Artemi Panarin–Pierre-Luc Dubois–Cam Atkinson
Ryan Dzingel–Matt Duchene–Oliver Bjorkstrand
Nick Foligno–Boone Jenner–Josh Anderson
Brandon Dubinsky–Alexander Wennberg–Eric Robinson
Zach Werenski–Seth Jones
Markus Nutivaara–David Savard
Scott Harrington–Adam McQuaid
Sergei Bobrovsky
