Less than 24 hours after losing 4-2 to the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday night, the Boston Bruins will close out a three-game road trip on Sunday against the Utah Mammoth at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City.
After dropping the first two games of the trip to the Vegas Golden Knights and Avs, the Black and Gold will be looking to salvage something on the trip against a rested Utah team. After the poor effort in Colorado, first-year head coach Marco Sturm will again be tinkering with his lines, which just proves the lack of depth the Bruins have early in the season.
Bruins lineup against Utah highlights lack of depth
Not surprisingly, Joonas Korpisalo will play goal after Jeremy Swayman played the first two games on the trip. Defenseman Hampus Lindholm will also be out after returning to the lineup in Colorado after missing three games with an injury. Sturm wants to be careful with working his left-shot blueliner back in.
As for the forward grouping, John Beecher will remain in the lineup after scoring Boston's lone goal in his season debut against the Avalanche, and he'll be back on the fourth line with Mark Kastelic and Sean Kuraly.
Sturm is scratching Casey Mittlestadt and inserting Marat Khusnutdinov into the lineup. He'll be on the second line with Pavel Zacha at center and Viktor Arvidsson on the other wing.
“I think today is a speed game. That is why a guy like [Khusnutdinov] is in,” Sturm said. “What I want to see is a response today. We are better than that. It is a work in [progress], though. A lot of moving pieces, new coach, new system. I get all that. We just have to find a way to buy in as quick as possible.”
That sounds all well and good, but it underscores the lack of depth the Bruins currently have with their forwards. Aside from David Pastrnak, there isn't a lot of production coming from the rest of the lineup.