Chara Among Group Returning vs. Devils

BOSTON - Christmas may be over, but the gifts will keep on coming for the Bruins on Thursday night.
Zdeno Chara (left MCL), Jake DeBrusk (concussion), and Kevan Miller (fractured larynx) will all be back in the lineup after missing a combined 41 games.
"It's one of those things that we got hit pretty hard at one point with a lot of players being out of the lineup. It's nice to see everyone getting back and healthy," said Chara, who was injured on Nov. 14 in Colorado.

It was not all good news for the Bruins, however, as Boston will be without Charlie McAvoy, who is day-to-day with a lower-body injury.
"He blocked a shot last week, so there's a little bit of lingering effect from that," said Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy. "He shouldn't be too long…Saturday, I guess we'll see then, but I guess he'll miss one or two games anyway.
"We talked about it Christmas Eve that we're gonna have our full lineup for the first time this season and then Charlie has a minor setback, minor so hopefully it doesn't grow into anything worse…it was enjoyed for about eight hours."
Nevertheless, the Bruins are nearing a return to full health for the first time this season. But having reinforcements back in the lineup won't change the group's mentality, though it may alter slightly the team's identity.
"One thing I'll say about this group the last two or three years is I think they play hard no matter who goes in our out. Of course we're a better team with our better players in the lineup…the mentality is we're a little more hard-nosed.
"Matchup-wise we can get a rugged defenseman now, where maybe we couldn't two weeks ago…I think we're a tougher matchup for the skill guys on the other team.
"[Miller] and Zee both relish playing against good offensive players and they take a lot of pride in shutting them down and hopefully leaving with a few welts on their bodies."

A full lineup will also provide Cassidy and Bruins management with a better idea of what the team is capable of achieving.
"We'll see what we've got a little bit more," said Cassidy. "I think we're all - us, management - we're all trying to figure out where are we exactly with our full lineup. We should get a better idea here this month.

Hot Hand

Cassidy is turning to Jaroslav Halak between the pipes on Thursday night, but was not yet ready to reveal his plan for the following two games - at Buffalo on Saturday night and the Winter Classic vs. Chicago on Tuesday.
"We'd like to go with the hot hand, yet keep them both active which is hard, unless you're playing those four-game weeks, which seem to be behind us for a little bit now," said Cassidy. "It's day by day right now and hopefully they both get hot and push each other. That's the best-case scenario."

Opposing View

The Bruins will meet the Devils for the first of three matchups this season. New Jersey comes into the game at 12-16-7 overall and just 3-12-3 on the road.
The Devils will be without leading scorer Taylor Hall, who is day-to-day with a lower-body injury. New Jersey will rely offensively on Kyle Palmieri and his team-leading 18 goals, as well as Nico Hischier (nine goals) and Travis Zajac (10 goals).
Mackenzie Blackwood (0-1-0, 2.24 GAA, .930 save percentage) starts in goal.
"We know they're a strong team, a stingy team," said Danton Heinen. "They're not easy to play against. They're on top of you all the time. It's gonna be a good matchup."

Thursday's Projected Lineup

Brad Marchand - Patrice Bergeron - David Pastrnak
Danton Heinen - David Krejci - Jake DeBrusk
Ryan Donato - Colby Cave - David Backes
Joakim Nordstrom - Sean Kuraly - Chris Wagner
Zdeno Chara - Matt Grzelcyk
Torey Krug - Brandon Carlo
John Moore - Kevan Miller
Jaroslav Halak
Tuukka Rask
Scratches: Noel Acciari, Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson, Steven Kampfer