By: Jack Studley | Follow me on Twitter/X @jackstudley13
The Boston Bruins continue their road trip on Saturday night with a matchup in Denver, Colorado. During morning skate on Saturday, Marco Sturm rolled out new lines. Pavel Zacha will join Elias Lindholm and David Pastrnak on the first line; while Morgan Geekie and Mikey Eyssimont will be the second line wingers, joining Casey Mittelstadt at center. Viktor Arvidsson joins the third line, and Johnny Beecher will make his season debut for the Bruins tonight playing on the fourth line.
Marco Sturm said that Jeremy Swayman will get the start tonight. Swayman made 31 saves in Thursday night’s loss and has pitched a 2-1-0 record with a .915 goals against average in his three starts this season. As well as new lines, Marco Sturm said that Hampus Lindholm will be a “gametime decision” regarding whether he will return to the Boston Bruins’ lineup on Saturday night. “I would say yes, but we are going to decide right before,” Sturm said. The Boston Bruins have been without Lindholm since the home opener on October 9. Lindholm played in 4:26 of the first period before leaving the game with a lower-body injury. He has missed the last three games.
Hampus Lindholm skated this morning, joining Andrew Peeke on the second pair of defense. He split reps with Jordan Harris, who has filled in during Lindholm’s absence. The second pair is where he skated during training camp, preseason, and into the regular season. Lindholm also skated on the second power play unit during the morning skate in Denver today, per Belle Fraser of the Boston Bruins. Lindholm spent time on the Bruins power play and penalty kill during the season opener.
Lindholm’s injury was classified as a lower-body injury, and after the home opener, Marco Sturm said that it was “not related to his old injury.” The “old injury” was a kneecap injury that sidelined Lindholm for the final 65 games of the 2024-25 campaign. Before Thursday’s game in Las Vegas, Sturm reiterated that Lindholm was day-to-day and has been feeling better as the week continues. He said today that he’s “definitely better.”
Johnny Beecher will play in his first game in his third season with the Bruins, he made the team out of training camp after a strong finish to training camp. Sturm praised Beecher’s penalty kill and faceoff ability ahead of the game. The fourth line has been one of the Bruins bright lights, even in losing efforts, by generating offense and drawing penalties. Jeffrey Viel, who made his season debut on Thursday, and Marat Khusnutdinov are scratches tonight.
The Bruins and Avalanche get underway in Denver, CO tonight at 9:00 PM EST. The game will be televised on NESN. I had mentioned it on at the end of the Black N’ Gold Hockey Podcast last week, but the Colorado Avalanche have continued to tease Quebec Nordiques throwback equipment; something that has been reported in the summer as the Avalanche celebrate their 30th season in Denver.
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