Bruins look to clinch playoffs tonight, lineups against Devils
Tonight, the Boston Bruins will be looking to clinch a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. They can do this by getting at least one point against the New Jersey Devils tonight. This means that getting to overtime tonight will get the B’s into the playoffs.
However, while the Devils are one of the worst teams in the league, they have been playing well recently, winning their last three games. Tonight, with a chance to spoil the Black and Gold’s ticket into the postseason, the Devils won’t be making it easy for Boston.
But the B’s also have momentum on their side. Not only have they also won their previous three games like the Devils, they’ve finally got all four lines rolling as the bottom-six has been playing much better with the recent lineup changes.
However, New Jersey has consistently made the B’s lives difficult this season. With this in mind, I fully expect this game to be much closer than it should be.
Boston Bruins at New Jersey Devils projected lineups.
Boston Bruins
Record: 30-14-6 (66 points)
With one of their best efforts last game against the Buffalo Sabres, it doesn’t seem like head coach Bruce Cassidy will be making any unforced changes to the lineup for tonight.
However, he will be forced to make a change at the backend as defenseman Mike Reilly will be missing tonight’s game with an injury. Jakub Zboril will slot in for him. Additionally, Kevan Miller will be in the lineup, but will not play tomorrow night.
Tuukka Rask will be in net with Jaroslav Halak backing him up.
Expect the Bruins to look like this tonight:
Marchand – Bergeron – Pastrnak
Hall – Krejci – Smith
Ritchie – Kuraly – Coyle
DeBrusk – Lazar – Kuhlman
Lauzon – McAvoy
Grzelcyk – Miller
Zboril – Clifton
Rask (Halak)
New Jersey Devils
Record: 17-27-7 (41 points)
The Devils will be without defenseman P.K. Subban tonight and left wing A.J. Greer will make his debut for New Jersey tonight.
Scott Wedgewood will be in between the pipes for the Devils with Mackenzie Blackwood backing him up.
Expect the Devils to look like this tonight:
Kuokkanen – Hughes – Sharangovich
Zacha – Hischier – Bratt
Greer – Boqvist – Merkley
Wood – McLeod – Bastian
Murray – Severson
Butcher – Carrick
Bahl – Smith
Wedgewood (Blackwood)
Where and when to watch Boston Bruins at New Jersey Devils.
Time: 7 PM EST
Location: Prudential Center
TV Broadcast: NESN, MSG+, SNW, SNP
Radio Broadcast: 98.5 The Sports Hub
Must Read. Boston Bruins: Krejci & Rask Lead Three Wins in the Last Week. light
As I mentioned earlier, the B’s can clinch the playoffs tonight by just going to overtime. However, if they can’t secure a point tonight, they can also clinch with a New York Rangers loss. Hopefully, we don’t have to scoreboard watch.