By: Jack Studley | Follow me on Twitter/X @jackstudley13
The Boston Bruins (17-13-0) are in Missouri for a Tuesday night showdown against Jim Montgomery and the St. Louis Blues (11-12-7). This will be the second time in five days, and the final time that these two teams will meet this season; the black and gold picked up a 5-2 win over the Blues on Thursday night in Boston. The Bruins won their contest against New Jersey on Saturday night, and the Blues went 2-0-0 in their back-to-back this weekend in Ottawa and Montreal; both teams are entering this game having won their last two.
The Bruins had a full practice on Monday at the Warrior Ice Arena in Brighton before boarding a plane and flying west to St. Louis; they also had an optional skate ahead of Tuesday’s game at the Enterprise Center. The good news for Bruins fans comes from Fluto Shinzawa of The Athletic: both Charlie McAvoy and David Pastrnak are traveling with the team on this road trip and are hoping to return to the lineup. On Tuesday, both Pastrnak and McAvoy were in regular jerseys during the Bruins’ optional skate, per Jim McBride of the Boston Globe. On Tuesday morning, Marco Sturm said that “Pasta is the only guy who is going to be a game-time decision.”
Everything else will look the same, according to Marco Sturm; Alex Steeves will be on the left side of Elias Lindholm and Morgan Geekie on the first line. Geekie, who is second in the league this season for goals (22), is riding a five-game point streak, putting up nine points over those games. Lindholm has 13 assists this season, with eight of them coming in the last five games. Steeves has picked up six points during the previous six games, and he has the highest shooting percentage on the Bruins this season (28.6%).
The second line of Viktor Arvidsson, Pavel Zacha, and Casey Mittelstadt has returned to form since recovering from injury. All three forwards have found the back of the net, with Zacha having a multi-goal game during the first matchup with St. Louis. The third line has also been consistent for the Bruins this season, which is part of the reason Marco Sturm has not split it up. Fraser Minten scored on Saturday night, which was the first third-line goal since Thanksgiving. Mark Kastelic has won 58.7% of faceoffs and leads the Bruins in that category (minimum 25 draws).
The defensive pairs will remain the same, with Hampus Lindholm and Andrew Peeke slated to skate top pair minutes. Nikita Zadorov and Jonathan Aspirot, who posted a plus-three rating on Saturday, will remain together as the second pair. Victor Soderstrom will dress for his third game as a Boston Bruin, and he will skate alongside Mason Lohrei on the third defensive pair.
The Blues return to Missouri after a three-game road trip that started at the TD Garden. After dropping that game 5-2 to the Bruins, the Blues rattled off a 2-1 win in Ottawa on Saturday and followed it with a 4-3 victory in Montreal. Although they turned it around on the road, they have struggled at home with only five wins in their 15 home games (5-6-4). The Blues rank 30th in average goals for (2.57), and rank 26th on the penalty kill, which bodes well for the Bruins’ fifth-ranked power play (25.0%). It is also worth noting that St. Louis boasts a 0-7 record in overtime, while the Bruins are 6-0.
We will be seeing a slightly different goalie matchup than we did on Thursday. After starting Joonas Korpisalo in the first meeting, the Bruins are turning to Jeremy Swayman for tonight’s game, per Marco Sturm. Swayman picked up the win on Saturday night and is 9-3-0 with a 2.36 goals against average and a .928 save percentage since November 1. On the other end, Jim Montgomery’s Blues are starting Joel Hofer, per Lou Korac of The Hockey News. Hofer made 41 saves in the Blues’ 2-1 win in Ottawa on Saturday. Hofer has one career start against the Bruins, coming on March 11, 2024, where he made 36 saves in a 5-1 Blues win.
Locally, tonight’s contest gets underway just after 8:00 PM, and it will be carried on NESN and 98.5 The Sports Hub. If you are interested in catching the Bruins live or are looking for an excellent gift for the holiday season, please check out our StubHub Ticket-affiliated link HERE for the most competitive concert and sporting event tickets in the North American region.
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