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

The Boston Bruins hope to get back on track against the Washington Capitals.

Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy revealed to reporters one lineup change he’ll make for the tilt with the Capitals on Thursday at TD Garden. After missing the last five games, Nick Foligno returns from injury to take the right-wing spot on Boston’s third line. Oskar Steen, who has been playing well lately, will be a healthy scratch.

The Bruins are coming off of a heavy loss to the Carolina Hurricanes. Rather than make knee-jerk reactions, Cassidy will stick with the lines and pairings that previously helped the Bruins mount a season-high five-game win streak.

The other lineup change comes in the net, as Linus Ullmark starts as goaltender, and Tuukka Rask serves as his backup after Tuesday’s nightmare start.

Fans can watch Bruins-Capitals on ESPN+. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.

Here are the teams’ projected lines and defensive pairings:

BOSTON BRUINS (22-12-2)
Brad Marchand–Patrice Bergeron–Craig Smith
Taylor Hall–Erik Haula–David Pastrnak
Jake DeBrusk–Charlie Coyle–Nick Foligno
Anton Blidh–Tomas Nosek–Curtis Lazar

Matt Grzelcyk–Charlie McAvoy
Urho Vaakanainen–Brandon Carlo
Derek Forbort–Connor Clifton

Linus Ullmark

WASHINGTON CAPITALS (22-9-9)
Alex Ovechkin–Evgeny Kuznetsov–Garnet Hathaway
Aliaksei Protas–Nicklas Backstrom–Tom Wilson
Axel Jonsson-Fjallby–Lars Eller–Connor McMichael
Carl Hagelin–Nic Dowd–Brett Leason

Martin Fehervary–Nick Jensen
Matt Irwin–Justin Schultz
Michal Kempny–Trevor Van Riemsdyk

Vitek Vanecek

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