BOSTON -- It's finally time for the Boston Bruins to unleash their much-hyped offseason acquisitions Thursday, as the Bruins will host the Tampa Bay Lightning at TD Garden in the season opener for both clubs.
Loui Eriksson and Jarome Iginla are scheduled to make their debuts with Boston and play on the lines they were projected to skate with in the summer, and played with all through training camp. Eriksson will line up with Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand, while Iginla will skate with David Krejci and Milan Lucic. Bruins coach Claude Julien said Krejci, who recently missed time with back spasms, will be in against the Lightning.
It'll be important for the Bruins' new top two lines to forge early chemistry.
"I think we feel pretty good out there," Eriksson said after the Bruins' morning skate. "We've been having lot of practices together and we played a few [preseason] games together too. So I think everyone is excited to get going here and start playing."
Tuukka Rask will start in net for Boston, with Anders Lindback in net for the Lightning. Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said it was a difficult decision between Lindback and Ben Bishop, but for opening night decided to go with the Swede.
"I thought both guys had times where they were exceptional in the preseason and there were times where they were average," Cooper said. "And we just felt that it was Anders' night [Thursday]. He last played in Florida, he played the most recent game and he's hung in there with us. I thought he had a great training camp, he's been competing and he deserves a shot."
Here are the projected lineups for both teams:
BRUINS
Milan Lucic - David Krejci - Jarome Iginla
Brad Marchand - Patrice Bergeron - Loui Eriksson
Jordan Caron - Chris Kelly - Reilly Smith
Daniel Paille - Gregory Campbell - Shawn Thornton
Dennis Seidenberg - Dougie Hamilton
Scratched: Matt Bartkowski
Injured: Carl Soderberg (ankle), Bobby Robins (knee)
LIGHTNING
Ryan Malone - Steven Stamkos - Martin St. Louis
Alex Killorn - Valtteri Filppula - Teddy Purcell
Ondrej Palat - Tyler Johnson - Richard Panik
Pierre-Cedric Labrie - Nate Thompson - B.J. Crombeen
Scratched: Keith Aulie, Tom Pyatt, Mark Barberio
Injured: Brian Lee (knee), Matt Taormina (upper body)
NHL.com is the official web site of the National Hockey League. NHL, the NHL Shield, the word mark and image of the Stanley Cup, the Stanley Cup Playoffs logo, the Stanley Cup Final logo, Center Ice name and logo, NHL Conference logos, NHL Winter Classic name, and The Biggest Assist Happens Off The Ice are registered trademarks and Vintage Hockey word mark and logo, The Game Lives Where You Do, NHL Winter Classic logo, NHL Heritage Classic name and logo, NHL Stadium Series name and logo, NHL All-Star logo, NHL Face-Off name and logo, NHL. TV, NHL Premium, NHL After Dark, NHL GameCenter, NHL GameCenter LIVE, NHL Network name and logo, NHL Tonight name and logo, On The Fly, NHL Awards name and logo, NHL Draft name and logo, Hockey Fights Cancer, Because It's The Cup, NHL Green name and logo, NHL Vault, Hockey Is For Everyone, NHL Thanksgiving Showdown name and logo, NHL Centennial Classic name and logo, NHL Centennial Season logo, NHL100 Classic name and logo, NHL Global Series name and logo, NHL China Games name and logo, and Don't Miss A Moment are trademarks of the National Hockey League. All NHL logos and marks and NHL team logos and marks depicted herein are the property of the NHL and the respective teams and may not be reproduced without the prior written consent of NHL Enterprises, L.P. © NHL 2018. All Rights Reserved. All NHL team jerseys customized with NHL players' names and numbers are officially licensed by the NHL and the NHLPA. The Zamboni word mark and configuration of the Zamboni ice resurfacing machine are registered trademarks of Frank J. Zamboni & Co., Inc. © Frank J. Zamboni & Co., Inc. 2018. All Rights Reserved. Any other third party trademarks or copyrights are property of their respective owners. All rights reserved.