Bruins Latest: Line Changes, Lindholm & Devils

Boston Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy changed things up at practice on Monday with his top-six forwards after the Black and Gold returned home from their three-game, four-day road trip through New York.

Cassidy moved Jake DeBrusk up to the first line with Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron. David Pastrnak was dropped from the top line down to the second line with Nick Ritchie and David Krejci.

It is an interesting move by Cassidy dropping Pastrnak down and moving DeBrusk up. In the three games since returning from an injury last week, DeBrusk had a good first showing against the Rangers last Wednesday but struggled in the final two games of the trip. Moving DeBrusk to the top-line is a move done most likely to see if the Bruins can get him going offensively.

The first quarter of the season has not been too kind to DeBrusk after inking his two-year, $7.35 million contract in November. In nine games, he has two assists and has to find the back of the net on 20 shots. He has the skill to provide the Bruins with more offensive production and moving to the first line with Marchand and Bergeron could do that.

Krejci might be the winner in this move by his coach. Getting Pastrnak gives him a consistent goal-scoring wing that he has yet to have in a while. Krejci has 10 assists this season and should see an increase in that number if Pasta does indeed become his right wing for a little while.

Bruins move on from Lindholm.

Par Lindholm‘s time with the Bruins is over. Boston waived the 29-year-old fourth-line forward Sunday and he agreed to a multi-year contract with Skelleftea of the Swedish Elite League. The Bruins agreed to terminate his contract.

Lindholm spent this season on the Bruins taxi squad and appeared in one game on Jan. 28 against the Pittsburgh Penguins. In 40 games last season, he had three goals and three assists with a plus/minus (+/-) of plus-6.

Devils returned to practice Monday.

The Bruins were supposed to host the New Jersey Devils tonight at the TD Garden in their fifth home game of the season, but that game was canceled when New Jersey entered the NHL’s COVID-19 protocols on Feb. 1. After 14 days, they returned to ice Monday for a team workout.

https://twitter.com/amandacstein/status/1361339217352265730

New Jersey’s game tomorrow night at New York against the Rangers is still on as scheduled as the number of players on the team’s protocol list shrunk to five.

That’s good news for the Bruins as it appears that their home game Thursday night against the same Devils will be played for home game No. 5 in 2021.