Will a lineup boost help the Boston Bruins start quickly and ultimately defeat the New York Rangers on Tuesday at Madison Square Garden?
Boston welcomes the return of Matt Grzelcyk, as the defenseman made it through morning skate and is set to play in Bruins-Rangers. Grzelcyk has recovered from the upper-body injury that sidelined him for the last two games and will slot into Boston's second defensive pairing alongside Brandon Carlo.
Mike Reilly and Charlie McAvoy will man the top pairing, and Derek Forbert and Connor Clifton will comprise the third duo. Jack Ahcan will be a healthy scratch to make room for Grzelcyk's return.
Cassidy will stick with the forward-line tweak that served the Bruins well Saturday in their win over the Ottawa Senators, as Trent Frederic remains the second-line left wing, and Jake DeBrusk stays on the third.
Jeremy Swayman is expected to continue as Boston's starting goaltender, following his impressive shutout of Ottawa. Linus Ullmark would be his backup again.
The Rangers have been off for the last 14 days. If they show any rust, the Bruins can capitalize and avenge the 5-2 loss they suffered on Thanksgiving in the teams' last meeting.
NESN will air Bruins versus Rangers in full, with pregame coverage starting at 6 p.m. ET. Puck drop from Madison Square Garden is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.
Here are the projected lines and defensive pairings for Bruins-Rangers:
BOSTON BRUINS (27-16-3)
Taylor Hall--Erik Haula--David Pastrnak
Trent Frederic--Charlie Coyle--Craig Smith
Jake DeBrusk--Jack Studnicka--Nick Foligno
Anton Blidh--Tomas Nosek--Curtis Lazar
Mike Reilly--Charlie McAvoy
Matt Grzelcyk--Brandon Carlo
Derek Forbort--Connor Clifton
Jeremy Swayman
NEW YORK RANGERS (30-13-4)
Chris Kreider--Mika Zibanejad--Alexis Lafreniere
Artemi Panarin--Ryan Strome--Barclay Goodrow
Dryden Hunt--Filip Chytil--Julien Gauthier
Greg McKegg--Kevin Rooney--Ryan Reaves
Ryan Lindgren--Adam Fox
K'Andre Miller--Jacob Trouba
Patrik Nemeth--Braden Schneider
Igor Shesterkin
These projected lines and defensive pairings are presented by Berkshire Bank, the official bank of NESN's Boston Bruins coverage.
