The Boston Bruins shook up their lines in the middle of Tuesday night's victory over the New York Islanders, and will be sticking with them.
The Boston Bruins started slow on Tuesday night, but tweaked a couple of things and stormed away from the New York Islanders en route to a 5-2 victory.
After the Islanders asserted serious control, Bruins Head Coach Marco Sturm knew he had to make some tweaks to his underperforming forward groups.
Sturm flipped Morgan Geekie and Marat Khusnutdinov. Khusnutdinov's speed and skill allow him to keep up with Elias Lindholm and David Pastrnak, making it a more natural fit for the winger than a bottom-six role.
Meanwhile, flipping Geekie to skate with Tanner Jeannot and Fraser Minten opens up significantly more offense for Boston's third line. Minten's shown excellent speed and playmaking ability, so gi giving him Geekie unlocks more offense, especially with Geekie scoring at will lately
Jeannot can easily set screens and be the grinder of the line, making the third line potentially lethal.
Meanwhile, Joonas Korpisalo starts again in goal, marking the first time this season Boston's gone to the Finnish goaltender twice in a row.
Korpisalo kept out 33 pieces of rubber in Boston's comeback win, stopping 32 consecutive shots after the Islanders scored on two of their first three shots of the game.
Hampus Lindholm did not skate this morning, but for the best possible reason. He and his fiancée welcomed a newborn daughter.
Mason Lohrei, John Beecher, and Jeffrey Viel remain the healthy scratches.
Here's Boston's full lineup for tonight, courtesy of Bruins Team Reporter Belle Fraser:
Forwards:
Marat Khusnutdinov - Elias Lindholm - David Pastrnak
Casey Mittelstadt - Pavel Zacha - Viktor Arvidsson
Tanner Jeannot - Fraser Minten - Morgan Geekie
Mikey Eyssimont - Sean Kuraly - Mark Kastelic
Defense & Starting Goalie:
Nikita Zadorov - Charlie McAvoy
Hampus Lindholm - Andrew Peeke
Jonathan Aspirot - Henri Jokiharju
Joonas Korpisalo