Two Boston Bruins will be making their season debuts tonight.
Forward Anton Blidh and defenseman John Moore will slot into Bruce Cassidy’s lineup for the first time this season as the Bruins take on the Buffalo Sabres Friday night.
With the injury to Nick Foligno, Blidh will play on the fourth line with Trent Frederic and Karson Kuhlman. Tomas Nosek will take Foligno’s spot on the third line.
Moore will take Connor Clifton’s place on the third defensive pair. He’ll skate alongside Derek Forbort.
#NHLBruins pregame updates per Coach Cassidy:
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) October 22, 2021
Anton Blidh will sub in for the injured Nick Foligno and play on the fourth line with Trent Frederic in the middle and Karson Kuhlman on the right.
Tomas Nosek moves up to third-line right wing.
John Moore is in for Connor Clifton. pic.twitter.com/3yFiWqWv7Z
Blidh skated in 10 games last season with Boston, with just a single goal to show for it. He also played 11 games in the AHL, scoring three goals and four assists with the Providence Bruins. In 38 career NHL games, Blidh has two goals and an assist.
He had been acting as the 13th forward so far this season as a healthy scratch for the first two games. With the injury to Foligno, he was the obvious choice to slide into the open spot in the bottom-six.
Moore will get his first crack in a game this season, taking Clifton’s spot in the lineup. After being placed on waivers earlier this preseason, Moore and Jakub Zboril were the extra defensemen for the first two games. The veteran skated in just five games last season, recording two assists. His shortened season was due to surgery in March and he missed the rest of the season.
Moore has skated in 537 NHL games in his career, with 90 of those coming with the Bruins. He has six goals and 12 assists in his career in Boston.
It was expected that the sixth defenseman to be a bit of a rotating door. Clifton, as evident by his two starts to Moore’s none, had the edge for the third right-side role during camp and the preseason.
After a poor defensive showing on Wednesday between Forbort and Clifton, Cassidy has elected to go with Forbort and Moore against the Buffalo Sabres on Friday. Both play a more reserved, shut-down role.
The puck will drop at 7 p.m. tonight against the Sabres. Let’s see what Blidh and Moore can do with their first taste of the 2021-22 NHL season.