Lines, roster updates and starting goaltenders for Bruins-Devils matchup
The Bruins are getting ready to face the Devils with a new-look lineup on Thursday night.
It'll be a very special night, with Boston honoring the career of Tuukka Rask, the franchise's all-time leader in wins, with a ceremonial puck drop. Rask retired from professional hockey on February 9 after attempting a comeback with the B's.
The Bruins (41-20-5) will look to bounce back from a tough 6-4 loss against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday, while the Devils (24-37-5) have been resting since their 3-2 shootout win over the Montreal Canadiens back on Sunday.
The Bruins lineup will look quite different than it did against the Leafs however. Red-hot winger Craig Smith is under the weather and will sit out the game, while fourth liner Nick Foligno is missing with a day-to-day injury.
Rookie Marc McLaughlin will take Smith's spot on the third line in his NHL debut, while Anton Blidh will slide into Foligno's spot for his 30th game of the regular season.
On the backend, the B's usual third pair of Connor Clifton and Derek Forbort is being fully swapped out. Instead, Boston will reinsert Mike Reilly on the left side after he sat out the past three games, and will place newcomer Josh Brown to his right in his Bruins debut.
Goaltending duties will be handed to Linus Ullmark (20-9-2) for the Bruins, who'll likely get to face-off against Nico Daws (8-8-0) down the other end of the rink.
With no last minutes changes expected, here's what the B's lines and pairing should look like tonight:
Brad Marchand � Patrice Bergeron � Jake Debrusk
Taylor Hall � Erik Haula � David Pastrnak
Trent Frederic � Charlie Coyle � Marc McLaughlin
Anton Blidh � Tomas Nosek � Curtis Lazar
Hampus Lindholm � Charlie McAvoy
Matthew Grzelcyk � Brandon Carlo
Mike Reilly � Josh Brown
Linus Ullmark
Jeremy Swayman
Puck drop between the Bruins and Devils is scheduled for 7pm ET at the TD Garden.
