Game Day Thread: Wings @ Bruins

The Bruins are home today, hosting the Red Wings in a matinee game , on NESN

Why have I got a picture of the TD Garden if the game is at the Little Caesars Arena?
Because I like to use photos I took myself for these game threads, and I distinctly remembered going to a Bruins vs Red Wings game – one where David Pastrnak had a hat trick, and I got to throw my hat, and I KNEW I had photos from that game, and I did – exactly two photos, both taken of the rink before the players came out for warmups.
Ahhh well.

The Bruins are now at 35-11-12, putting them 1st in the Atlantic, and 1st in the league, a mere 3 points ahead of the Capitals. And also a mere 5 points ahead of Tampa, which will soon become relevant, as the playoffs come closer, and the Lightning have been playing consistently well.

Last time, on Bruins hockey…
It seems like just yesterday… because it was. The Bruins were at home, playing the speedy Arizona Coyotes. The Yote are a middling team in the other conference, who are in the mix for a wild card slot. While the Bruins did not dominate this team in 5-on-5 play, the Bruins power play was powerful, scoring on 2 of 4 opportunities.
They would weather a comeback effort by Arizona, who would close the gap to 2-3, but allow Charlie Coyle to score an empty-net goal from center ice, sealing the deal on a 4-2 Bruins victory.

On the downside, Providence Bruin call-up Jeremy Lauzon was ejected from the game at the end of the first period for this hit:

Jeremy Lauzon is assessed a match penalty for a hit to the head against Derek Stepan. pic.twitter.com/xk6tYsT1bC

— Conor Ryan (@ConorRyan_93) February 8, 2020

It was reviewed by Toronto and the match penalty upheld. Since it seems like a hit aimed at the collarbone, it is not clear why this was deemed a match penalty. Match penalties result in automatic review for possible suspension by DOPS.

Inexplicably, Lawson Crouse committed a more obvious case of targeting the head later in the game and only incurred a minor penalty.

#Yotes Lawson Crouse roughing penalty against #NHLBruins Charlie McAvoy pic.twitter.com/eiv3VB0fyj

— Here's Your Replay ⬇️ (@HeresYourReplay) February 8, 2020

Fortunately Charlie McAvoy did not seem to be worse for wear.

What will be the lineup today?

Karson Kuhlman is back. Danton Heinen was banged up, and was held out allowing Sean Kuraly to move up to 3LW and Anton Blidh to be called up for the last few games. Heinen returns today. Nordstrom also missed the last game due to allergy issues, Par Lindholm was in. He is looking better, but will still not suit up today.

Brandon Carlo had a family issue to deal with and was out on Saturday, but will be back today, so John Moore played in his stead, but will still be needed on the 3rd pairing. Jeremy Lauzon had been playing alonside Matt Grzelcyk, but was given a match penalty for a hit to the head of a Coyote player. He had a hearing with Player Safety today and was suspended for two games. Connor Clifton is still out with an upper body injury picked up vs the Sabres, but has been skating. Steven Kampfer is still down in Providence. Urho Vaakanainen was called up on emergency basis but with Carlo & Moore both available, Urho will not be needed.

Brett Ritchie is still in Providence, and David Backes is still in trade-dangle limbo. Since Backes passed through waivers, it is clear that there is no team that is ready to pick up his contract. However the Bruins may be able to move him if they retain salary? He has not been required to report to Providence.

Injured defensemen Kevan Miller (fractured kneecap) is still not close to being ready for his season debut, but has skated briefly on his own.

Jaro Halak will be between the pipes today.

Bruins Forward Lines
Brad Marchand	Patrice Bergeron	David Pastrnak
Jake DeBrusk	David Krejci	Karson Kuhlman
Sean Kuraly	Charlie Coyle	Anders Bjork
Danton Heinen	Par Lindholm	Chris Wagner
Bruins Defensive pairs
Zdeno Chara	Charlie McAvoy
Torey Krug	Brandon Carlo
Matt Grzelcyk	John Moore
Bruins Goaltending
#41 Jaroslav Halak	(#40 Tuukka Rask)

Today, the Bruins play the Detroit Red Wings. They’ve been a bottom-feeding team all season, and are currently at a record of 13-39-4 (30 points), which – unsurprisingly- puts them last in the Atlantic division. They are 1-5-0 in their last six, and they’re kinda banged up right now.
Danny DeKeyser underwent back surgery in October and will miss the rest of the season. Mike Green has been out but is reportedly in today. Anthony Mantha has been out since December with a concussion & rib injury. Frans Nielsen is ‘day-to-day’ on IR with an upper body injury. Winger Filip Zadina will miss a couple of weeks with a lower body injury. Darren Helm is out – also day-to-day.
Grand Rapids call-up defenseman, Madison Bowey left Friday’s game and might not be available today
(h/t the Red Wings twitter account):

Red Wings Forwards
#8 Justin Abdelkader — #71 Dylan Larkin — #14 Robby Fabbri
#29 Brendan Perlini — #51 Valtteri Filppula — #59 Tyler Bertuzzi
#53 Taro Hirose — #72 Andreas Athanasiou — #41 Luke Glendening
#48 Givani Smith — #70 Christoffer Ehn — #73 Adam Erne

Red Wings Defense
#22 Patrik Nemeth — #3 Alex Biega
#25 Mike Green — #17 Filip Hronek
#83 Trevor Daley — #52 Jonathan Ericsson
(#28 Gustav Lindstrom???)

Red Wings Goaltending
#45 Jonathan Bernier
(#35 Jimmy Howard)