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

The Boston Bruins look to make it two straight wins when they welcome the Tampa Bay Lightning to TD Garden on Saturday night.

Boston already is shorthanded due to injuries and Brad Marchand’s suspension, but was able to recall Oskar Steen and Jack Ahcan from Providence to provide depth to the lineup.

As for the lines, things look a tad different with Erik Haula and Nick Foligno swapping places. Haula has played well of late for the Bruins, and should provide a nice presence next to Charlie Coyle and Craig Smith.

With Jakub Zboril still sidelined and the extent of his lower-body injury unknown, Connor Clifton will slot into the lineup next to Mike Reilly. Charlie McAvoy is a game-time decision with a non-COVID-19 illness. Should he be unable to go, Ahcan and Derek Forbort will be the top defensive pair.

Jeremy Swayman will start between the pipes after a stellar, 42-save shutout in Thursday’s win against the Nashville Predators.

NESN will air Bruins-Lightning in full, with pregame coverage starting at 6 p.m. ET. Puck drop from TD Garden is scheduled for 7 p.m. If you’re on the go, you can stream the game on Watch NESN Live.

Here are the projected lines and defense pairings for both teams:

BOSTON BRUINS (12-8-0)
Taylor Hall–Patrice Bergeron–David Pastrnak
Erik Haula–Charlie Coyle–Craig Smith
Nick Foligno–Trent Frederic–Karson Kuhlman
Jake DeBrusk– Tomas Nosek–Curtis Lazar

Derek Forbort–Jack Ahcan/Charlie McAvoy
Matt Grzelcyk–Charlie McAvoy
Mike Reilly–Connor Clifton

Jeremy Swayman

TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING (13-5-4)
Ondrej Palat–Steven Stamkos–Alex Barre-Boulet
Alex Killorn–Anthony Cirelli–Gabriel Fortier
Boris Kathouk–Ross Colton–Taylor Raddysh
Patrick Maroon–Pierre-Édouard Bellemare–Corey Perry

Victor Hedman–Jan Rutta
Ryan McDonagh–Erik Cernak
Mikhail Sergachev–Zach Bogosian

Andrei Vasilevskiy

These projected lines and defensive pairings are presented by Berkshire Bank, the official bank of NESN’s Boston Bruins coverage.