Bruins vs Devils 3/7/21: Hockey Day in America, lineups, and more
By Matt Hawkins
The Boston Bruins battle the New Jersey Devils for the fourth time of eight this season. So far, the Devils have gotten the better of the B’s, winning 2 out of the three previous matchups.
The last time the Black and Gold squared up with New Jersey was back on Feb. 18. Things were much different then as the B’s had a commanding lead of first place in the East and the Devils were above .500.
However, since then, Boston has lost some games and the Devils have lost a lot of games. The struggles of the Devils can partially be blamed on starting goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood, who has significantly cooled off, and has actually been playing poorly.
While this is bad news for the New Jersey, this is great news for the B’s as they have struggled to score against Blackwood and the Devils in general this season.
Boston Bruins vs New Jersey Devils projected lineups.
Boston Bruins
Record: 13-5-3 (29 points)
The B’s will be without defenseman Brandon Carlo as he is considered week-to-week after a hit to the head by Capitals’ forward Tom Wilson. Thankfully, although there wasn’t a penalty called on the play, Wilson was disciplined by the NHL’s Department of Player Safety and suspended seven games.
With Carlo out, Urho Vaakanainen slots into the lineup on the third pairing with Jarred Tinordi after being a healthy scratch the last two games.
The Black and Gold’s forward lines will be the same as last game and Tuukka Rask will be in net as Jaroslav Halak started last game.
Expect the Bruins to look like this tonight:
Marchand – Bergeron – Pastrnak
Ritchie – Krejci – DeBrusk
Frederic – Coyle – Smith
Bjork – Studnicka – Wagner
Zboril – McAvoy
Grzelcyk – Clifton
Tinordi – Vaakanainen
Rask (Halak)
New Jersey Devils
Record: 7-11-2 (16 points)
The Devils will be without new captain and first line center Nico Hischier as he’s out with an injury. They will also be without defenseman Ryan Murray.
Expect the Devils to look like this tonight:
Bratt – Zacha – Gusev
Johnsson – Hughes – Kuokkanen
Wood – Zajac – Palmieri
Sharangovich – Maltsev – Bastian
Smith – Severson
Kulikov – Subban
Butcher – Vatanen
Blackwood (Wedgewood)
Where and when to watch Boston Bruins vs New Jersey Devils.
Time: 5 PM EST
Location: TD Garden
TV Broadcast: NESN, NBCSN, SN1, SNW
Radio Broadcast: 98.5 The Sports Hub
Next. Bruins Should Keep This Defensive Pairing Together. dark
The B’s will most likely have to withstand an early stong push from the Devils tonight as they are coming off a 6-3 loss to the New York Rangers that they called “embarrassing.” If the Black and Gold can survive this and get to a struggling Blackwood, they should win this game easily.