Projected Lines, Defensive Pairings For Bruins-Panthers Matchup

The Bruins look to break a six-game losing streak when they take on the Florida Panthers on Saturday.

Boston is coming off a 4-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning at Amalie Arena. The result seemed to cause an outlandish rumor to arise, which Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak quickly squashed.

That energy shift could be what the Black and Gold need. However, they could be without Mark Kastelic, who suffered an injury after getting cross-checked at the end of the Lightning matchup. Interim head coach Joe Sacco said the forward was day to day after he missed practice Friday. Marc McLaughlin would slot into the lineup if Kastelic can’t suit up.

Hampus Lindholm practiced again after morning skate, but the defenseman isn’t expected to play Saturday. Aaron Ekblad returned to the Panthers lineup Wednesday after missing a game due to an undisclosed injury. However, the defenseman missed practice Friday and head coach Paul Maurice called him a game-time decision.

Puck drop for Bruins-Panthers at Amerant Bank Arena is scheduled at 1 p.m. ET on ESPN.

Here are the projected lines and defensive pairings for Boston and Florida.

BOSTON BRUINS (20-19-5)
Morgan Geekie — Pavel Zacha — David Pastrnak
Brad Marchand — Elias Lindholm — Charlie Coyle
Oliver Wahlstrom — Trent Frederic — Justin Brazeau
John Beecher — Marc McLaughlin — Cole Koepke

Nikita Zadorov — Charlie McAvoy
Jordan Oesterle — Brandon Carlo
Mason Lohrei — Andrew Peeke

Jeremy Swayman

FLORIDA PANTHERS (25-15-2)
Evan Rodrigues — Aleksander Barkov — Sam Reinhart
Eetu Luostarinen — Sam Bennett — Matthew Tkachuk
Carter Verhaeghe — Anton Lundell — Jesper Boqvist
A.J. Greer — Tomas Nosek — Mackie Samoskevich

Gustav Forsling — Aaron Ekblad
Dmitry Kulikov — Niko Mikkola
Uvis Balinskis — Nate Schmidt

Sergei Bobrovsky