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One preseason game left! This is a game that goes either way: either a coach rests most of his main guys to save them for the opener, or he plays an NHL-level lineup for one last tuneup.
Bruce Cassidy is going with the latter.
Per the team, here’s who you’ll see tonight:
Forwards: Noel Acciari, Anders Bjork, Jake DeBrusk, Ryan Donato, Trent Frederic, Danton Heinen, David Krejci, Sean Kuraly, Brad Marchand, Joakim Nordstrom, David Pastrnak, Chris Wagner
With Patrice Bergeron and David Backes out for the Bruins, the lines should look something like this:
Brad Marchand - Trent Frederic - David Pastrnak
Jake DeBrusk - David Krejci - Danton Heinen
Ryan Donato - Sean Kuraly - Anders Bjork
Joakim Nordstrom - Noel Acciari - Chris Wagner
Defensemen: Zdeno Chara, Torey Krug, Charlie McAvoy, Kevan Miller, John Moore, Urho Vaakanainen
Here’s what you can expect those pairings to look like:
Zdeno Chara - John Moore
Torey Krug - Charlie McAvoy
Urho Vaakanainen - Kevan Miller
Goalies: Tuukka Rask, Jaroslav Halak
A few notes on the group above:
- No Patrice Bergeron. Looks like Cassidy has decided that he could use another day off before the regular season begins.
- Anders Bjork is in the mix. It’ll be interesting to see how he does after little action this September.
- That defense is pretty interesting, eh? That looks like a regular season defense, with the addition of my man Urho Vaakanainen at the end. Brandon Carlo is missing, so are the Bruins toying with the idea of Urho on the team, or are they just giving Carlo a break after he played Wednesday?
- Regarding the question above, it’s probably the latter, but worth considering: if the Bruins have already determined that Vaakanainen won’t make the team, what do they really have to gain by playing him in this game? MAEKS U THINK!!!
- No Peter Cehlarik in the forward group either. Hopefully, that doesn’t mean he isn’t making the squad...that would be a shame after the strong preseason he’s had.
See ya tonight!