There's no shortage of intrigue surrounding Monday night's matchup between the Boston Bruins and Vegas Golden Knights.
Not only are Boston and Vegas arguably the best teams in the Eastern Conference and Western Conference, respectively. This also marks Bruce Cassidy's first game back at TD Garden since becoming the Golden Knights' head coach upon his departure from the Bruins.
Cassidy spent parts of six seasons behind Boston's bench, leading the Bruins to six straight playoff appearances, including the Stanley Cup Final for the 2018-19 campaign. The B's eventually opted for a new voice, though, and thus relieved Cassidy of his duties following last season.
To say it's worked out well for both Boston and Vegas thus far would be an understatement. The Bruins have won 20 of their first 23 games under new head coach Jim Montgomery, a stretch that includes a perfect 14-0 record at home. The Golden Knights, meanwhile, entered Monday with an 18-7-1 record. Only the red-hot New Jersey Devils (20-4-1) have more points (41) in the NHL standings than Boston (40) and Vegas (37).
The Bruins opened their December schedule Saturday night with a 5-1 win over the defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche. They'll look to close their four-game homestand with a victory Monday night before embarking upon a three-game West Coast swing.
Montgomery didn't reveal Monday morning who will be between the pipes -- Linus Ullmark or Jeremy Swayman -- when the B's host the Knights. Craig Smith will be out of Boston's lineup again while dealing with an upper-body injury.
Jack Eichel is a game-time decision for Vegas, and Alex Pietrangelo will miss a fourth consecutive game while dealing with a personal matter.
Monday's puck drop from TD Garden is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET, and you can catch all the action on NESN, beginning with an hour of pregame coverage at 6 p.m.
Here the projected lines and defensive pairings for both the Bruins and Golden Knights.
BOSTON BRUINS (20-3-0)
Brad Marchand -- Patrice Bergeron -- Jake DeBrusk
Pavel Zacha -- David Krejci -- David Pastrnak
Taylor Hall -- Charlie Coyle -- Trent Frederic
Nick Foligno -- Tomas Nosek -- A.J. Greer
Hampus Lindholm -- Charlie McAvoy
Matt Grzelcyk -- Brandon Carlo
Derek Forbort -- Connor Clifton
Linus Ullmark
VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS (18-7-1)
Chandler Stephenson -- Jack Eichel -- Mark Stone
Reilly Smith -- William Karlsson -- Jonathan Marchessault
Paul Cotter -- Nicolas Roy -- Phil Kessel
William Carrier -- Jake Leschyshyn -- Keegan Kolesar
Brayden McNabb -- Shea Theodore
Zach Whitecloud -- Alec Martinez
Nicolas Hague -- Daniil Miromanov
Logan Thompson
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