The Bruins are coming off of a 5-2 win over the New Jersey Devils at TD Garden Saturday night.
The Boston Bruins will close out 2023 on the road as they take on the Detroit Red Wings Sunday night at 5 p.m.
The B’s are on their second game of a back-to-back after beating the New Jersey Devils 5-2 at TD Garden Saturday night. David Pastrnak and Kevin Shattenkirk each scored two goals, and Jake DeBrusk had a goal and assist in the win.
Sunday marks the fourth meeting between Detroit and Boston this season. The Bruins earned a 4-1 win on Oct. 28 before the Red Wings took the next two games – 5-4 on Nov. 4 and 5-2 on Nov. 24.
Georgii Merkulov made his NHL debut with the Bruins Saturday. The 23-year-old centered the third line with James van Riemsdyk and Trent Frederic, and will likely line up the same way against Detroit.
Nov 24, 2023; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Detroit Red Wings right wing Alex DeBrincat (93) goes for a rebound in front of Boston Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman (1) during the second period at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports“Good, a lot of good things. I didn’t play him down the stretch just because you’re going to close out the game. As soon as we closed it out, I put him back out there,” Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said Saturday.
With Merkulov’s arrival, Danton Heinen slotted onto the fourth line Johnny Beecher and Jakub Lauko. Oskar Steen was scratched for the second consecutive game.
Charlie McAvoy left Saturday’s game with less than five minutes remaining in the third period after colliding left-leg-first into Linus Ullmark. The defenseman was slow to get up and was helped off the ice. However, Montgomery was not concerned with McAvoy’s condition postgame.
“He’s fine. I think he just had a little bit of a scare,” Montgomery said. “He’s walking around, he’s happy right now.”
Jeremy Swayman is expected to get the start against Detroit. The goaltender has a 2.17 goals against average and .929 save percentage through 17 games.
Five things to know about the Red Wings:
- The Red Wings are coming off of a 5-4 overtime win against the Nashville Predators Friday in which they advanced to a 17-15-4 record.
- Alex DeBrincat leads Detroit in both goals and points with 37 (17 goals, 20 assists). DeBrincat is the left wing on the second line with JT Compher and Patrick Kane.
- Following hip surgery recovery, Kane signed a one-year, $2.75 million contract with Detroit on Nov. 29. The all-star veteran has 13 points (six goals, seven assists) in 12 games.
- Alex Lyon is expected to start for the Red Wings against Boston. The netminder has a 2.39 GAA and .925 SV% through eight games. Lyon was activated from injured reserve Friday after being out with an upper-body injury since Dec. 16. He last played Dec. 29 against the Nashville Predators and made 37 saves in the win.
- Forwards Joe Veleno and Christian Fischer are both expected to return from injury and back into the lineup Sunday. Veleno centers the fourth line with Robby Fabbri and Daniel Sprong. Fischer is a wing on the third line with Andrew Copp and Michael Rasmussen.