Sturm Makes Three Notable Line Changes For Halloween Showdown Against Blackhawks

BOSTON -- The Boston Bruins are making not one, not two, but three big lineup changes ahead of their Saturday afternoon Halloween matinée against the Chicago Blackhawks.

Marco Sturm is inserting Sean Kuraly for his first game October 17th, and only his second since October 3. It'll be Kuraly's fifth game of the season.

Defensively, Jonathan Aspirot finds himself in the exact same boat as Kuraly- first game since October 17, second since October 3, and his fifth game of the year.

Sturm is also giving Michael DiPietro the start in goal, which is well-earned. DiPietro's been nothing short of outstanding this season.

The question became who comes out for Kuraly and Aspirot.

Matthew Poitras and Connor Clifton are the answers, with Poitras specifically could raise some eyebrows.

"We are very fortunate to be very healthy this year," Sturm said. "We have everyone available. I think these guys (Kuraly, Aspirot) were not playing for a while. They did a tremendous job [when they did play]. We need everyone on this team. And the last time they played in LA, they did a terrific job (a 4-1 Bruins win).

So it's more about that than anything else. Keep everyone on their toes, and they deserve to be in the lineup, too. We thought after our last game, they give us a little bit of life, too."

It's a big call, and coming off two straight losses, it's tough to fault Sturm's logic.

Here's how it will all look:

Bruins Confirmed Lineup:

Forwards:

JJ Peterka - Pavel Zacha - David Pastrnak

Marat Khusnutdinov - Fraser Minten - Morgan Geekie

Casey Mittelstadt - Elias Lindholm - James Hagens

Tanner Jeannot - Sean Kuraly - Mark Kastelic

Defense:

Hampus Lindholm - Charlie McAvoy

Nikita Zadorov - Will Borgen

Jonathan Aspirot - Mason Lohrei

Starting Goalie:

Michael DiPietro