Berkshire Bank Hockey Night In New England: Projected Bruins-Stars Lines, Pairings

‘Tis the season.

It’s been long four months without Boston Bruins hockey, the wound from last season’s Game 7 loss in the Stanley Cup Final likely still open for many players and fans alike. But alas, it is hockey season once more with a clean slate to be tallied with new heroes, new highlights and new memories. It all starts Thursday night deep in the heart of Texas.

The B’s start the season on a four-game road trip that begins with the Dallas Stars.

There are not many questions surrounding the B’s lineup, but there is one big one. David Krejci will be a gametime decision for Bruce Cassidy’s club with a lower-body injury, leaving the second-line center position in question. Other than that, the names and places will look plenty familiar for Bruins fans. If Krejci cannot go, expect Par Lindholm to jump up to the second line between Jake DeBrusk and Karson Kuhlman, with Sean Kuraly moving to fourth-line pivot between Chris Wagner and Brett Ritchie.

Tuukka Rask is expected to get the bid in net for the opener, and the Stars are likely to counter with Ben Bishop.

Here are the projected lines and pairing for Thursday’s Bruins-Stars game:

BOSTON BRUINS (0-0-0)
Brad Marchand — Patrice Bergeron — David Pastrnak
Jake DeBrusk — David Krejci — Karson Kuhlman
Danton Heinen — Charlie Coyle — David Backes
Sean Kuraly — Par Lindholm — Chris Wagner

Zdeno Chara — Charlie McAvoy
Torey Krug — Brandon Carlo
Matt Grzelcyk — Connor Clifton

Tuukka Rask

DALLAS STARS (0-0-0)
Jamie Benn — Tyler Seguin — Joe Pavelski
Jason Dickinson — Roope Hintz — Alexander Radulov
Andrew Cogliano — Radek Faksa — Blake Comeau
Mattias Janmark — Justin Dowling — Denis Gurianov

Esa Lindell — John Klingberg
Miro Heiskanen — Andrej Sekera
Jamie Oleksiak — Roman Polak

Ben Bishop