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

The Bruins will look to bounce back from Thursday’s loss when they welcome the Arizona Coyotes to TD Garden.

Head coach Jim Montgomery admitted Boston came out flat in his team’s loss to the Buffalo Sabres. The Black and Gold also lost Charlie McAvoy during the matchup, but Montgomery told reporters this week the star defenseman is day-to-day with an upper-body injury, and he is “hopeful” he can play Saturday.

The Bruins will take on a Coyotes team that is fourth in the Central Division heading into Saturday and had their five-game winning streak end Thursday at the hands of the Philadelphia Flyers.

It’s unlikely McAvoy suis up, which means it will be up to Mason Lohrei to step up after his call-up from Providence. The 22-year-old paired up with Kevin Shattenkirk during practice this week. The youth movement could continue when Matt Poitras returns to the lineup after a scheduled rest day for the 19-year-old. He is expected to center the third line with Jake DeBrusk and Danton Heinen. Jakub Lauko is expected to be scratched in favor of Oskar Steen on the fourth line.

Brandon Bussi was returned to Providence on Friday, and Montgomery said Friday that Jeremy Swayman, who had been out with an illness, would be an available option after practicing at Warrior Ice Arena.

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Puck drop for the Bruins-Coyotes matchup is scheduled at 1 p.m. ET, and you can catch full coverage on NESN starting at noon.

Here are the projected lines and defensive pairings for both teams.

BOSTON BRUINS (17-5-3)
Brad Marchand — Pavel Zacha — David Pastrnak
James van Riemsdyk — Charlie Coyle — Trent Frederic
Jake DeBrusk — Matthew Poitras — Danton Heinen
Oskar Steen — John Beecher — Morgan Geekie

Matt Grzelcyk — Brandon Carlo
Hampus Lindholm — Ian Mitchell
Mason Lohrei — Kevin Shattenkirk

Linus Ullmark

ARIZONA COYOTES (13-10-2)
Clayton Keller — Logan Cooley — Nick Schmaltz
Matias Maccelli — Nick Bjugstad — Lawson Crouse
Michael Carcone — Alex Kerfoot — Jason Zucker
Milos Kelemen — Liam O’Brien

J.J. Moser — Troy Stecher
Matt Dumba — Josh Brown
Juuso Valimaki — Michael Kesselring

Travis Dermott