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

The Boston Bruins are finally back home, and they’ll look to celebrate with a victory over the Vegas Golden Knights at TD Garden on Thursday night.

It’s been a rough couple weeks for the B’s, as they’ve gone to an extra period in seven of their last eight matchups. Boston hasn’t exactly been rewarded for working overtime either, with just two wins during that stretch — capping things off with a shootout loss to the Seattle Kraken on Monday.

The Bruins’ recent struggles won’t be enough to influence major change, however, as Boston head coach Jim Montgomery is making minimal alterations to the lineup. Jakub Lauko will replace Anthony Richard on the fourth line, while the struggling blueliners will get another crack at working together.

Derek Forbort, who missed a team meeting earlier in the week, will remain sidelined as a healthy scratch.

It’s also Jeremy Swayman’s turn in the goalie rotation. He’ll spell Linus Ullmark, who hasn’t won a game since Feb. 8.

The Bruins and Golden Knights are scheduled to drop the puck at 7 p.m. ET on NESN, following an hour of pregame coverage. We’ve got the projected lines and defensive pairings for both sides right here.

BOSTON BRUINS (34-12-14)
Brad Marchand — Charlie Coyle — David Pastrnak
James Van Riemsdyk — Pavel Zacha — Jake DeBrusk
Danton Heinen — Morgan Geekie — Trent Frederic
Jakub Lauko — Jesper Boqvist — Justin Brazeau

Matt Grzelcyk — Charlie McAvoy
Mason Lohrei — Brandon Carlo
Parker Wotherspoon — Kevin Shattenkirk

Jeremy Swayman

VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS (33-19-7)
Brendan Brisson — William Karlsson — Jonathan Marchessault
Ivan Barbashev — Chandler Stephenson — Michael Amadio
Paul Cotter — Nicolas Roy — Keegan Kolesar
Mason Morelli — Byron Froese — Sheldon Rempal

Alec Martinez — Alex Pietrangelo
Brayden McNabb — Shea Theodore
Nicolas Hague — Zach Whitecloud

Adin Hill

Presented by Berkshire Bank, the official bank of NESN’s Boston Bruins coverage.