After defeating Detroit 4-1 last Saturday, the Boston Bruins will look to earn more Atlantic Division points. More from Jim Montgomery, Charlie Coyle and Hampus Lindholm below, as well as an under-the-radar line to watch for the Red Wings.
BRIGHTON, Mass. – Last Saturday, David Pastrnak scored three points (two goals, one assist) to help the Boston Bruins defeat the Detroit Red Wings 4-1 at TD Garden. A week later, the two sides meet again, this time in Detroit with a 7 p.m. puck drop.
Boston (9-0-1) is off to its best 10-game start in franchise history, and will look to extend their franchise-record season-opening point streak to 11 games. With three straight wins against Atlantic Division opponents, Boston sits a clear six point ahead of second-place Detroit in the standings, meaning two points either way will have big ramifications on the division race, albeit at such an early point in the season.
Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said the same roster from Thursday’s 3-2 shootout win against the Toronto Maple Leafs would travel to Detroit, including Derek Forbort (undisclosed), who is considered “day-to-day” and questionable for Saturday’s game.
With that in mind, the Bruins practiced with the following lines on Friday before flying to Detroit:
James Van Riemsdyk - Pavel Zacha - David Pastrnak
Danton Heinen - Charlie Coyle - Jake DeBrusk
Trent Frederic - Matt Poitras - Morgan Geekie
Johnny Beecher - Patrick Brown - Oskar Steen
Hampus Lindholm - Kevin Shattenkirk
Mason Lohrei - Brandon Carlo
Parker Wotherspoon - Ian Mitchell
Charlie McAvoy
Linus Ullmark
Jeremy Swayman
Noticeably absent was Brad Marchand, but he was only taking a maintenance day and will be in the lineup on Saturday.
Despite winning by three goals last time, the Bruins risked letting the lead slip after Joe Veleno cut the deficit to 2-1 at 6:40 of the third period. Detroit kept pressuring, but the Bruins defense blocked five Detroit shot attempts before Red Wings defenseman Jake Walman slashed Pastrnak on a breakaway, drawing a penalty shot.
Pastrnak converted, and later scored an empty-net goal to ice the game, but Boston dodged – or rather, blocked – a bullet with Detroit gaining all the momentum.
It will take that same defensive responsibility, which held Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin without a point for the first time this season, to overcome a Detroit team determined to win back valuable division points.
Both Larkin and Alex DeBrincat lead Detroit in scoring, but neither has registered a point since facing Boston, with DeBrincat riding a four-game pointless streak that started before the Bruins game.
Regardless of whether or not they are ‘due’ to score on Saturday, limiting their output will be extremely important for the Bruins’ chances.
“I did like our matchup against the Larkin line,” Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said on Friday. “... We liked our matchups at home, but we really liked the way we played, and now they get the matchup at home.”
It’s safe to say Detroit will try to avoid facing Charlie Coyle, who helped shut down their star duo last Saturday before doing the same against Auston Matthews and the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday.
“You get kind of fired up when you hear before the game, [Montgomery] says, ‘Hey, you get so-and-so’s line,’” Coyle said on Friday. “It’s like, ‘Alright, let’s do this.’ You get to go out against them, and that’s what you’re taught since you’re younger, right? You look across the guy across me, that’s that centerman for me, and you got to outwork him and outplay him.”
Aside from the Larkin line, Detroit’s line with Veleno, Michael Rasmussen and Daniel Sprong is one to watch. Not only did they produce Detroit’s only goal last Saturday, but they outshot Boston 6-2 at 5-on-5 and produced three high-danger scoring chances while allowing just one, according to Natural Stat Trick.
For Boston, Jake DeBrusk scored his first goal of the season last Thursday, but Hampus Lindholm is still looking to get the monkey off his back. Despite playing big minutes with the absences of Charlie McAvoy – who has three games left to serve in suspension, barring an appeal – Matt Grzelcyk and Forbort, Lindholm still does not have a point through 10 games. He scored 10 goals and 43 assists in 80 games last season. Both Montgomery and Lindholm consider it a “fluke” at this point.
“I feel like I had a lot of good chances,” Lindholm said on Friday. “I feel pretty good about my game. I feel like I’ve created a lot of chances, so you just have to keep doing. It’s a long year, and if I look down at the season, I’d rather have points coming end of the year than early in the year.”
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