Need to Know: Bruins at Avalanche

DENVER - The Bruins are set to kick off a three-game road trip on Wednesday night with a visit to Ball Arena for a meeting with the Colorado Avalanche - their second in the last five days. Boston, which is coming off its first home loss of the season on Monday night, has its attention on avoiding the club's first two-game skid of the 2022-23 campaign.

"It's a hard league and there's gonna be losses, but it's how you bounce back," said Nick Foligno. "I think this team has shown every time we've had a loss, we've bounced back the right way. I think it's good for us to get on the road.
"I know it's cliché sometimes, but we haven't been on the road in a little while, so you hunker down and feel the animosity from the [Colorado] crowd and I think it kind of puts you on your toes to be the hunters. I'm looking forward to our attitude and our mindset coming into this road trip."

The Bruins have played just three road games since Nov. 7 and only nine this season (6-3-0). With so much success coming on home ice (14-0-1), the Black & Gold are also eager to continue building on their game away from TD Garden.
"I think when you trust what your process is and what you are as a team," Foligno said when asked how to be a successful road team. "That's, honestly, a recipe for success on the road. You don't get flustered by the momentum shifts or the crowd or what's going on. You know you're a good team and you know when you get to your game that that'll take over a lot of times. I think for us it's just continuing that.
"I think we felt that way at home. We've done that on the road as well already this year. We really believe in what we're trying to accomplish and trying to get better and still don't think we're quite where we want to be.
"It's exciting for our group, with the success we've had, to put it into a road trip that's against some really good teams and get to our identity real quick."
Here's everything else you need to know ahead of the 9 p.m. ET puck drop on NESN and 98.5 The Sports Hub:

Smith to Return

Craig Smith will return to the lineup on Wednesday night after missing the last three games with an upper-body injury. The winger, who has played just 12 games this season, will sub in for A.J. Greer and play alongside Nick Foligno and Tomas Nosek on the B's fourth line.
"He's played well when he's played," Montgomery said of Smith. "Unfortunately, he got hurt. Now, he's back and I just expect him to add to the depth that we have. We're able to roll four lines because we have four good lines.
"I expect him to drive skate a lot, take pucks wide, take pucks to the net and hold on to pucks offensively."
Linus Ullmark will make the start between the pipes for the Black & Gold.

Opposing View

The Avalanche (13-9-1) have lost two straight - the 5-1 setback to the Bruins on Saturday night and a 5-3 loss to Philadelphia on Monday - as they battle with a laundry list of injuries. Already down 10 of its regulars, Colorado will now be without leading scorer and Hart Trophy runner-up Nathan MacKinnon for four weeks due to an upper-body injury.
"One thing in this league, you understand injuries are part of it. I don't think anyone takes a team lightly when they're injured," said Foligno. "Sometimes they're like a wounded animal, they're a little more dangerous because you don't know what to expect. I don't think we're a team that ever takes any team lightly. We always want to play to our strengths and our abilities.
"But we're anticipating a hard game. And like anything, when you're going through it, no teams feels mercy on you. We've got to make sure we have that mindset as well and making sure that we're starting this road trip off right against a really good team and knowing we have to be at our best to win."
Bo Byram, Jean-Luc Fudy, Darren Helm, Gabriel Landeskog, Arturri Lehkonen, Kurtis MacDermid, Josh Manson, Valeri Nichuskin, and Evan Rodrigues are the other Avalanche regulars also out of the lineup.

Right at Home

Brandon Carlo, now in his seventh NHL season, stills feels right at home when he returns to Denver, where he spent his teenage years playing youth hockey. Carlo and his mother, Angie, would drive to the city from their home in Colorado Springs in their gold Chevy Suburban on almost a daily basis for practice and games.
"I just like to come out and see the rink. I played a couple youth hockey games here, so it's crazy to be back in this experience and recognize the point that I'm at in my life and being able to live out my dream. It's fun to take in the sights." Carlo, who now lives in the Denver area in the summer, said of heading out to the Bruins' bench at Ball Arena to take things in ahead of Wednesday's morning skate.
"It's an awesome area and I love spending time here…those are some of my best memories, being able to spend that time in the car with my mom most of those days. It's funny - when I was in it, I just wanted to get home or get to the rink. But now that I reflect on it, it was something very special that I got to do."
Carlo said that while his mom doesn't drive the gold Suburban much anymore, the car probably isn't going anywhere anytime soon.
"She drives a different car, but I don't think we'll ever get rid of that one," Carlo said with a smile.

Wednesday's Projected Lineup

FORWARDS
Brad Marchand - Patrice Bergeron - Jake DeBrusk
Pavel Zacha - David Krejci - David Pastrnak
Taylor Hall - Charlie Coyle - Trent Frederic
Nick Foligno - Tomas Nosek - Craig Smith
DEFENSEMEN
Hampus Lindholm - Charlie McAvoy
Matt Grzelcyk - Brandon Carlo
Derek Forbort - Connor Clifton
GOALIES
Linus Ullmark
Jeremy Swayman