The Boston Bruins face off against the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday. Below are updates on the lineup and quotes from Jim Montgomery and Charlie McAvoy:
The Boston Bruins have been hit with a plethora of injuries as of late, but it hasn’t slowed them down. Sitting at the top of the league standings at 11-1-1, Boston should be getting some reinforcements back into the lineup when they take on the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre on Saturday.
The Bruins practiced at Warrior Ice Arena on Friday, and while neither Derek Forbort nor Pavel Zacha participated, Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said it was a “maintenance day” for both, and they will be in the lineup on Saturday.
Forbort returned on Thursday from an injury that has reportedly been nagging him since training camp. He missed the three previous games, and with both him and Charlie McAvoy returning, Parker Wotherspoon was reassigned to AHL Providence on Friday. The 26-year-old defenseman tallied one assist and blocked six shots in three games.
McAvoy is slated to play after serving his four-game suspension for his illegal hit to the head on Florida Panthers defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson. McAvoy appealed to have his suspension reduced by one game, but it was denied. Boston went 3-1-0 in his absence and will get an even bigger boost on the back end with his return.
“I just want to get back on the ice and play hockey,” McAvoy said on Thursday. “I’ve played a lot of games, almost 400 games, since my first suspension and I throw hits every single game. And I was saying sort of within my character, I think I’ve established myself as someone who can play a physical style and do it clean, and I made a mistake.”
Jakub Lauko could potentially return to the lineup after missing the past seven games with a facial fracture. He took Blackhawks forward Sam Dickinson’s skate near his eye in Boston’s 3-0 win against Chicago on Oct. 24, but returned to practice a couple days ago and even skated during pregame warmups ahead of Thursday’s 5-2 win against the New York Islanders.
“He’s an option tomorrow,” Montgomery said about Lauko on Friday. “We’ll see how he responds after today, but it’s looking good.”
Boston appears to be getting healthier just in time for a crucial road matchup with another Atlantic Division opponent. Montreal beat the Detroit Red Wings 3-2 in overtime on Thursday to snap a four-game losing skid, with Cole Caufield scoring the winner and Nick Suzuki adding two points.
Caufield leads Montreal with 13 points in as many games, and Suzuki and Sean Monahan are right behind with 12 each. With an average age of 26.5, Montreal is tied for the second-youngest team in the NHL with the Arizona Coyotes, just ahead of the Buffalo Sabres (25.9).
“They got players that are getting a year older,” Montgomery said on Friday. “Getting used to the league, getting their ‘man strength.’ They got a lot of good young players. That D-core is young, but it’s good. And I think that they’re playing a more connected team game.”