Charlie McAvoy and Pavel Zacha will be sidelined; McAvoy exited during the third period of Thursday's loss to Buffalo due to an upper body injury, while Zacha hasn't played since the first period of Saturday's game against Arizona, nursing an upper body injury of his own.
To fill the gaps, Jesper Boqvist has been called up from the Providence Bruins, the American Hockey League affiliate, where he has tallied five goals and nine assists in 24 games since his assignment.
Head coach Jim Montgomery addressed the lineup changes, emphasizing that replacing a top center and a top defenseman is not a one-person job. He stressed the need for a collective effort from the entire team to shoulder the increased minutes and responsibilities.