The Boston Bruins take on the Philadelphia Flyers for the fifth time this season. However, unlike the first four times, this game will take place outdoors.
So far this season the B’s have had the Flyers number, defeating Philadelphia in all four of this season’s previous matchups. However, the Black and Gold are currently on a cold streak, as they’ve lost their last two games, and have been plagued by the injury bug as of late.
For the Flyers, this will be just their second game since have two games postponed due to a bit of a COVID-19 outbreak amongst the team. They will still be without several key players tonight as they are still on the COVID-19 list.
This game will be a test of the depth of both teams as well as the coaching abilities of Bruce Cassidy and Alain Vigneault. With this game being outside and so many irregulars in each lineup, we could get a sloppy, yet entertaining game.
Boston Bruins vs Philadelphia Flyers projected lineups.
Boston Bruins
Record: 10-3-2 (22 points)
As I previously stated, the B’s have been getting hit pretty hard by injuries lately. While right wing Ondrej Kase hasn’t played since the second game of the season, defenseman Matt Grzelcyk has been in and out of the lineup with different lower-body injuries.
Now the Black and Gold are being hit even harder. Their lack of depth on defense is really showing as Jakub Zboril will be out with an upper-body injury and Kevan Miller will miss tonight to get some rest, according to Cassidy.
With so many defensemen out, Boston has called up Urho Vaakanainen to play tonight and John Moore will remain in the lineup. Moore in the lineup has shown to be terrible, so the B’s will probably struggle whenever he’s out there.
The B’s will also be without center David Krejci, who has a lower-body injury. With Krejci out, Charlie Coyle will move up to the second line and Jack Studnicka is back up from the AHL and will play third line center.
Expect the Bruins to lineup like this tonight:
Marchand -Bergeron – Pastrnak
Ritchie – Coyle – Smith
Bjork – Studnicka – DeBrusk
Frederic – Kuraly – Wagner
Lauzon – McAvoy
Vaakanainen – Carlo
Moore – Clifton
Rask (Halak)
Philadelphia Flyers
Record: 8-3-3 (19 points)
As I said earlier, the Flyers still have a bunch of players on the COVID-19 list that won’t be able to play tonight. These players include Claude Giroux, Travis Konecny, Scott Laughton, Oskar Lindblom, Jakub Voracek, and Justin Braun.
Expect the Flyers to lineup like this tonight:
van Riemsdyk – Couturier – Farabee
Raffl – Hayes – Aube-Kubel
Bunnaman – Patrick – Sushko
Morin – Andreoff – Friedman
Provorov – Myers
Sanheim – Gostisbehere
Hägg – Gustafsson
Hart (Elliott)
Where and when to watch Boston Bruins vs Philadelphia Flyers.
Time: 7:30 PM EST
Location: Edgewood Tahoe Resort
TV Broadcast: NBCSN, TVAS, SN1
Radio Broadcast: 98.5 The Sports Hub
I’m excited to see how Studnicka does at his natural position of center tonight and to see how Vaakanainen plays in his season debut. Hopefully Vaakanainen plays well enough that the B’s decide to waive Moore and play Miller a bit less.