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

Kevan Miller is back as the Boston Bruins go for a “series sweep” of the Sabres on Friday night in Buffalo.

The Bruins defenseman is back in the lineup after missing the last five games with a scary-sounding foot issue. Miller’s week-long absence stemmed from cellulitis on his foot after his skate caused an infection. The D-man even spent time in the hospital where he received treatment for the issue, but he’s good to go now.

Miller will draw into the lineup for Connor Clifton.

Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy expects to have Miller available Sunday and Tuesday against the Pittsburgh Penguins, too, but the blueliner might sit out the second half of a back-to-back situation.

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The Bruins, who have won six straight and two of their first three in Buffalo this week, will go back to Tuukka Rask in net. Rask has been tremendous since returning from his own injury, winning all three of his starts, including a 32-save shutout Tuesday night against the Sabres.

Coverage of Friday night’s B’s-Sabres game begins at 6 p.m. ET on NESN+.

Here are the projected lines and defense pairings.

BOSTON BRUINS (27-12-6)
Brad Marchand — Patrice Bergeron — David Pastrnak
Taylor Hall — David Krejci — Craig Smith
Nick Ritchie — Charlie Coyle — Jake DeBrusk
Sean Kuraly — Curtis Lazar — Chris Wagner

Matt Grzelcyk — Charlie McAvoy
Mike Reilly — Kevan Miller
Jeremy Lauzon — Steve Kampfer

Tuukka Rask

BUFFALO SABRES (12-28-7)
Jeff Skinner — Sam Reinhart — Victor Olofsson
Rasmus Asplund — Casey Middelstadt — Tage Thompson
Anders Bjork — Dylan Cozens — Arttu Ruotsalainen
Tobias Rieder — Riley Sheahan — Drake Caggiula

Mattias Samuelsson — Rasmus Ristolainen
Rasmus Dahlin — Henri Jokiharju
Jacob Bryson — William Borgen

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen