And just like that, the Boston Bruins have reached the final game of their 2022-23 NHL Season.
The Bruins play Game 82 on Thursday night when they take on the Montreal Canadiens on the road. Boston already has set new league records, but that won’t stop the Black and Gold from rolling out most of their regulars in a game that has no impact on the Stanley Cup playoffs standings.
Jeremy Swayman will get the start for the Bruins and Brandon Bussi, who was recalled from Providence on Wednesday, will be the backup goalie. Tomas Nosek won’t play as he continues to deal with an illness, so Trent Frederic will center the fourth line with A.J. Greer and Garnet Hathaway on his left and right, respectively. Jakub Lauko will draw back into the lineup on the third line.
Despite having everything locked up (minus the opponent) for the playoffs, head coach Jim Montgomery still wants to play the majority of his starters as a “last tune-up” before the quest for the Stanley Cup begins.
Puck drop from Bell Centre is set for 7 p.m. ET, and you can catch all the action beginning an hour earlier on NESN.
Here are the projected lines and defense pairings for both teams:
BOSTON BRUINS (64-12-5)
Brad Marchand–Patrice Bergeron–Jake DeBrusk
Tyler Bertuzzi–Pavel Zacha–David Pastrnak
Taylor Hall–Charlie Coyle–Jakub Lauko
A.J. Greer–Trent Frederic–Garnet Hathaway
Dmitry Orlov–Charlie McAvoy
Hampus Lindholm–Brandon Carlo
Matt Grzelcyk–Connor Clifton
Jeremy Swayman
MONTREAL CANADIENS (31-44-6)
Mike Hoffman–Nick Suzuki–Joel Armia
Sean Farrell–Jonathan Drouin–Denis Gurianov
Rem Pitlick–Jake Evans–Brendan Gallagher
Michael Pezzetta–Chris Tierney–Joel Teasdale
Mike Matheson–Justin Barron
Joel Edmundson–Chris Wideman
Johnathan Kovacevic–Frederic Allard
Sam Montembeault
