By: Jack Studley | Follow me on Twitter/X @jackstudley13
The Boston Bruins (18-13-0) have won their last three games, and on Thursday night, they are set to face the Winnipeg Jets (14-14-1) in cold Manitoba. This is the second stop of a three-game road trip for the Bruins, and they are coming off a dominant 5-2 win in St. Louis on Tuesday night. The Jets, who are sitting with a .500 record and out of the playoff picture, have struggled due to Connor Hellebuyck’s injury. They have posted a 2-7-1 record in their last 10, all with Hellebuyck out of the lineup.
Charlie McAvoy will be a game-time decision tonight, per the Boston Globe’s Jim McBride. He practiced on Wednesday and joined the team for the optional morning skate on Thursday. McAvoy has not played since taking a puck to the face on November 15 in Montreal. The Bruins are significantly stronger with two of their star defensemen in the lineup, posting a 9-2-0 record when they have both McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm playing.
Ahead of the Blues game on Tuesday, the Bruins were strengthened by the return of David Pastrnak. Marco Sturm skated him on the third line alongside Marat Khusnutdinov and Fraser Minten, and it worked. Minten buried two goals, Pastrnak had three assists, and Khusnutdinov added an assist in the 5-2 win. Marco Sturm kept the line together at the Bruins’ practice on Wednesday, and today he said the forward groups will remain the same, meaning that the third line will continue together tonight.
With the changes to the third line, Marco Sturm slightly altered the fourth line ahead of Tuesday’s contest. Mark Kastelic and Tanner Jeannot joined Sean Kuraly on the fourth line. That line clicked in St. Louis, with Mark Kastelic scoring two goals, Kuraly notching two assists, and the linemates all ending the night with a plus-two rating.
The Jets have a 7-6-0 record on home ice this season, and the Bruins are 7-8-0 on the road. Winnipeg’s special teams currently rank in the middle of the pack, with a 12th-ranked power play (20.2%) and a 19th-ranked penalty kill (80%), but both units have really struggled in the last ten games. Winnipeg’s power play has clicked at an 8.3% rate since November 21, and its penalty kill has been successful 68% of the time; the Bruins have the sixth-best power play (24.4%) and the tenth-best penalty kill (82.5%) this season.
In goal tonight, the Bruins will turn to Joonas Korpisalo, per Jim McBride of the Boston Globe. Korpisalo picked up a 5-2 win in his last start, stopping 37 of the 39 pucks that the Blues turned his way. The Finnish netminder has a 5-2-1 record against the Jets throughout his career, with a .923 save percentage (SV%) and a 2.38 goals against average (GAA). On the other end, the Jets have struggled without the reigning Hart and Vezina Trophy winner, Connor Hellebuyck. They will start Eric Comrie on Thursday, per Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Free Press; this will be his first career start against the Bruins. In Hellebuyck’s absence, Comrie has played nine games, and he’s posted a 2-6-1 record with an .883 SV% and an .871 GAA.
Locally, tonight’s game 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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