Multiple factors force Bruins major lineup changes ahead of Maple Leafs showdown

When the Boston Bruins take the ice on Saturday night at Scotiabank Arena against their heated rivals, the Toronto Maple Leafs, they will do so very shorthanded.

After the Black and Gold's 3-2 overtime win over the Ottawa Senators on Thursday night at the TD Garden, it was announced that Boston was not going to practice on Friday. They would use the day as a travel day to Toronto. They took the ice on Saturday morning for their pregame skate minus some bodies, and they will be very shorthanded against the Maple Leafs.

Bruins down multiple key players against Maple Leafs

When Boston took to the ice on Saturday morning, noticeably missing were Charlie McAvoy and Casey Mittlestadt. Following the workout, Jim McBride of the Boston Globe posted on his X account that McAvoy (personal reasons) and Mittlestadt (lower-body injury) did not travel to Canada for the game. Fluto Shinzawa of The Athletic posted the AM lines.

Based on the morning skate, taking Mittlestadt's spot in the lineup is Alex Steeves, called up on Saturday morning officially from the Providence Bruins in the American Hockey League (AHL), slotting in on the second line with Pavel Zacha and Viktor Arvidsson. There was some good news with John Beecher, who left the game against the Senators with an injury and was the extra forward. Jeffrey Viel was slotted on the fourth line in his spot from the other night with Sean Kuraly and Mikey Eyssimont.

On defense, Mason Lohrei slots back into the lineup on the third pairing with Jonathan Aspirot. He has missed the previous five games during Boston's winning streak. This just proves the lack of depth on defense in the organization if Lohrei is slotting back in.

This was already going to be a difficult task for the Bruins, running their winning streak to six games, but now it's going to be a monumental task on the road. This would be the most impressive win during their streak if they were able to pull it out.