The Bruins find themselves amidst a rare two-game skid, and are in need of a bit of luck.
So with Jake DeBrusk sidelined with a lower-body injury sustained in Tuesday’s loss to the Montreal Canadiens, Boston will shake things up on the second line once again Sunday night against the Philadelphia Flyers.
Danton Heinen moves back to David Krejci’s left side, and Charlie Coyle takes over at right wing when the B’s take the ice at TD Garden. Head coach Bruce Cassidy hopes this will create a much-needed spark.
“Maybe Charlie will be a little more shot-oriented now that he’s got a centerman that likes to dish,” Cassidy said, per the team. “Someone on that line will have to shoot. That’s the one thing that Jake always brings, he’s got a shot mentality. He can make plays, but he’s a shooter.”
David Backes remains out with an upper-body injury following his collision with Ottawa Senators forward Scott Sabourin last Saturday. Brett Richie, who was a late scratch ahead of Friday’s loss to the Detroit Red Wings, remains out of the lineup, as well.
Meanwhile, Joakim Nordstrom (elbow infection) and Par Lindholm (upper-body) return to the ice Sunday. Nordstrom will play on Sean Kuraly’s left side on the fourth line while Lindholm will center the third.
Here are the lineups for Sunday’s Bruins-Flyers game:
BOSTON BRUINS (11-3-2)
Brad Marchand — Patrice Bergeron — David Pastrnak
Danton Heinen — David Krejci — Charlie Coyle
Anders Bjork — Par Lindholm — Zach Senyshyn
Joakim Nordstrom — Sean Kuraly — Chris Wagner
Zdeno Chara — Connor Clifton
Torey Krug — Brandon Carlo
Matt Grzelcyk — Charlie McAvoy
Jaroslav Halak
PHILADELPHIA FLYERS (9-5-2)
James van Riemsdyk — Claude Giroux — Joel Farabee
Oskar Lindblom — Sean Couturier — Travis Konecny
Carsen Twarynski — Kevin Hayes — Jakub Voracek
Andy Andreoff — Michael Raffl — Tyler Pitlick
Ivan Provorov — Matt Niskanen
Shayne Gostisbehere — Justin Braun
Travis Sanheim — Philippe Myers
Carter Hart
