Two nights after rallying from a two-goal third-period deficit against the New Jersey Devils to pull out a 5-4 shootout victory, the Boston Bruins will continue their seven-game homestand with the first of two straight games against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Brad Marchand and Bradon Carlo returned to the Bruins lineup Tuesday night, Marchand off of the COVID-19 protocols list following a false-positive test and Carlo following his recovery from a concussion from a hit by the Washington Capitals Tom Wilson on March 5. Marchand made an immediate impact with his energy and a key second-period power play goal, while Carlo showed some rust from being off for nearly a month.
The Bruins are 3-1 this season against the Penguins, winning both games in Boston in January, while splitting two in Pittsburgh last month.
Boston Bruins vs. New Jersey Devils
Boston Bruins
Record: 18-9-5 (41 points)
Sean Kuraly came off of the COVID-19 protocols list Wednesday and practiced with his teammate’s Warrior Ice Arena, but it’s unlikely he plays tonight. Jake DeBrusk is still on the list and will miss his fifth straight game.
Rookie Dav Vladar will get his third start this season in net tonight. He beat the Penguins, 2-1, on March 16 with a stellar 34-save performance, which included the save on the year in the first period on Colton Sceviour.
Boston Bruins projected lines tonight.
Marchand-Bergeron-Pastrnak
Ritchie-Krejci-Smith
Bjork-Coyle-Senyshyn
Blidh-Frederic-Kuhlman
Lauzon-McAvoy
Grzelcyk-Carlo
Zboril-Clifton
Vladar
(Halak)
Pittsburgh Penguins
Record: 23-11-2 (48 points)
The Penguins last played Monday night, beating the New York Islanders, 2-1, to pull into a second-place tie with the Isles. Sidney Crosby has been hot lately for Pittsburgh with three goals and five assists in the last five games.
Pittsburgh Penguins projected lines tonight.
Guentzel-Crosby-Rust
Zucker-McCann-Rodrigues
Aston-Reese-Gaudreau-Lafferty
Sceviour-Jankowski-Angello
Dumoulin-Letang
Matheson-Ceci
Pettersson-Marino
DeSmith
(Lagace)
Where and when to watch Boston Bruins vs. Pittsburgh Penguins.
Time: 7 PM EST
Location: TD Garden
TV Broadcast: NESN, ATTSN-PT, ESPN+
Radio Broadcast: 98.5 The Sports Hub
With the Bruins three points ahead of the Philadelphia Flyers for the final East Division playoff spot, they can look to gain some separation in the standings beginning tonight.