Something will have to give when the Boston Bruins welcome the Arizona Coyotes to TD Garden on Saturday night.
The teams are two of the hottest in the NHL, with Arizona riding a four-game winning streak and the Bruins having gone 8-1-1 in their last 10 outings.
Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy will be able to deploy his strongest lineup against the Coyotes, as Matt Grzelcyk returns from illness and injury to re-take his spot on Boston’s second defensive pairing alongside Brandon Carlo. Jack Ahcan, who scored a goal as part of a strong performance Thursday in Boston’s win over the Chicago Blackhawks, exits the lineup as a healthy scratch to make way for Grzelcyk.
The rest of the Bruins’ lineup will be the same as it was Thursday. Jeremy Swayman is the starting goaltender for the second consecutive game. He currently holds a lead over Linus Ullmark in Boston’s goaltender competition, and another victory only would strengthen Swayman’s grip on the No. 1 spot.
Saturday’s Bruins-Coyotes game is their second and final meeting of the season. Boston beat Arizona 2-1 on Jan. 28 in their most recent matchup.
NESN will air Bruins-Coyotes in full, with the game in full, with pregame coverage starting at 6:30 p.m. ET. Puck drop from TD Garden is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.
Here are the projected lines and defensive pairings for Bruins-Coyotes:
BOSTON BRUINS (35-18-5)
Brad Marchand–Patrice Bergeron–Jake DeBrusk
Taylor Hall–Erik Haula–David Pastrnak
Trent Frederic–Charlie Coyle–Craig Smith
Nick Foligno–Tomas Nosek–Curtis Lazar
Mike Reilly–Charlie McAvoy
Matt Grzelcyk–Brandon Carlo
Derek Forbort–Connor Clifton
Jeremy Swayman
ARIZONA COYOTES (18-35-4)
Clayton Keller–Travis Boyd–Nick Schmaltz
Alex Galchenyuk–Riley Nash–Phil Kessel
Lawson Crouse–Matias Maccelli–Hudson Fasching
Nick Ritchie–Barrett Hayton–Loui Eriksson
Shayne Gostisbehere–Dysin Mayo
Janis Moser–Anton Stralman
Vladislav Kolyachonok–Jakob Chychrun
Karel Vejmelka
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