ATR: Bruins at Blues

ST. LOUIS -- Goalie Malcolm Subban's anticipated NHL debut has arrived.

The Boston Bruins, who will play at the St. Louis Blues on Friday in the fourth of a five-game trip, will turn to their first-round pick from the 2012 NHL Draft in hopes that the 21-year-old can spark something and help Boston out of its five-game losing streak (0-2-3).

Subban, recalled from the Providence Bruins of the American Hockey League on Monday, has been the backup to starter Tuukka Rask four times this season. He gives Rask, who's played in 48 games, a break Friday.

"I'm just enjoying the whole experience," said Subban, the younger brother of Montreal Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban. "I'm trying to get used to everything with the guys, the schedule and whatnot. Just be patient and keep working hard and wait for the opportunity. Obviously I'm getting mine tonight and I'm just going to make the best of it.

"As a kid, you want to be in the NHL and you want to be in the NHL as quick as possible. I just try to focus on myself and what I have to work on and getting here as quick as possible. I'm happy that I'm getting my opportunity right now and just trying to make the best of it tonight."

Subban is 10-10-3 with Providence and a 2.47 goals-against average and .920 save percentage.

"If I'm him, I'm pretty excited because I'm only in my second year of pro and with goaltenders, you'd like to be patient with them," Bruins coach Claude Julien said of Subban. "I know our organization has been with goaltenders in the past. With Tuukka, it's a good example of that. [Subban] is getting an opportunity to play here because he's progressed well. What happens from today on depends on a lot of different things here. I think he's made some real good adjustments to his game.

"He's a good goaltender. We've watched him in Providence, we've watched him here in practice. I anticipate our team to play well in front of him. This is our goaltender for tonight."

Subban said he's spoken to his brother P.K. in recent days and the message was simple: "Just enjoy the whole experience and just have fun."

"Every game's important right now," Subban added. "Not too many games left in the season. You try to get as many wins as you can. I'm happy I'm getting my chance right now, my opportunity to show what I can do and hopefully I can get a win for the team."

Also making his NHL debut for the Bruins on Friday will be right wing Brian Ferlin, who was recalled by Providence on Thursday after the Bruins placed defenseman Kevan Miller (shoulder) on injured reserve.

"I've just got to do the same things that got me here that I've been working on all year," Ferlin said. "Hopefully, just go out there and play hard and play my game. Obviously I'm real excited. You want to play in the NHL your whole life. It's one of those things where you're obviously ready and working hard down in Providence, ready for when your opportunity comes."

Ferlin had nine goals and 16 points in 46 games at Providence this season.

"It's deserving of an opportunity," Julien said. "When things are going well, it's hard to take guys out of the lineups, but when things aren't, it's an opportunity to see some of these guys and see how much they've progressed. Not only progressed, but to see if they can help or not. Our intention is to give him a shot here tonight."

Here are the projected lineups:

BRUINS

Milan Lucic - David Krejci - David Pasternak

Brad Marchand - Patrice Bergeron - Reilly Smith

Chris Kelly - Carl Soderberg - Loui Eriksson

Jordan Caron - Gregory Campbell - Brian Ferlin

Zdeno Chara - Dougie Hamilton

Matt Bartkowski - Dennis Seidenberg

Torey Krug - Adam McQuaid

Malcolm Subban

Tuukka Rask

Scratched: Daniel Paille, Craig Cunningham, Niklas Svedberg

Injured: Kevan Miller (shoulder)

BLUES

Alexander Steen - David Backes - T.J. Oshie

Jaden Schwartz - Jori Lehtera - Vladimir Tarasenko

Dmitrij Jaskin - Paul Stastny - Patrik Berglund

Steve Ott - Marcel Goc - Ryan Reaves

Jay Bouwmeester - Alex Pietrangelo

Carl Gunnarsson - Petteri Lindbohm

Barret Jackman - Ian Cole

Jake Allen

Brian Elliott

Scratched: Joakim Lindstrom, Chris Butler

Injured: Kevin Shattenkirk (abdomen), Chris Porter (ankle)

Status report: Ferlin and Caron will replace Paille and Cunningham in the lineup for the Bruins. Julien said Paille has had "a tough year. I think his confidence is at its lowest right now. Sometimes watching a game from above ... gives him that hunger to get back in the lineup." ... Lindbohm will step in and make Butler a healthy scratch for the Blues. Coach Ken Hitchcock said Lindbohm, recalled from the Chicago Wolves of the AHL on Thursday, "brings an edge to our group, he brings an edge to our game."

Who's hot: Stastny has at least one point in nine of the past 12 games. ... Hamilton has one goal and four assists the past five games.