The Boston Bruins' win streak at TD Garden was snapped in a shootout loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Monday, but the Bruins will quickly move on in a rematch against the Avalanche on Wednesday.
The Black and Gold beat the defending Stanley Cup champions Saturday but will play the rematch at Colorado. The Bruins will do so with Craig Smith back in the lineup. Head coach Jim Montgomery confirmed Tuesday the forward will return from his upper-body injury, which he suffered against the Carolina Hurricanes on Nov. 25. Smith likely will take A.J. Greer's spot in the lineup, according to Montgomery.
Avalanche star Nathan MacKinnon is not expected to play Wednesday after leaving Monday's game against the Philadelphia Flyers with an upper-body injury. But Montgomery knows Boston needs to bounce-back and Colorado will want revenge after Saturday's loss.
"We have a veteran team that knows how to play on the road," Montgomery told reporters, per team-provided video. "We haven't scored as much on the road as we had at home, but that's probably normal. We've had a couple back-to-backs on the road that we've played well in games -- managed -- like Columbus, and we went into Buffalo and came back home. I think our game doesn't change, and that's what I like is that our identity is the same -- we check hard, and we try to make plays."
Puck drop from Ball Arena is scheduled at 9 p.m. ET, and you can catch the game, along with an hour of pregame coverage on NESN.
