NEW JERSEY –– The Boston Bruins continue their road trip on Monday in New Jersey with a matchup against the Devils.
The 7 p.m. puck drop at Prudential Center marks the second of three times the teams will meet this regular season. The Bruins beat the Devils 4-1 on Dec. 6 at TD Garden.
“It is always a tricky situation when a team like this, they’re not really happy, but they’re 5-2-0 in their last seven games, I think, so they have a lot of weapons, and they can score,” head coach Marco Sturm said of the Devils. “We just have to make sure we do our job. We’ve got to keep them off the scoresheet.”
The B’s are coming off a 3-2 shootout win against the Washington Capitals on Saturday. Monday’s game is the first of a back-to-back; Boston faces the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday.
Sturm made some tweaks to the forward group. Marat Khusnutdinov is moving up to the first line alongside Fraser Minten and David Pastrnak, while Morgan Geekie is on the third line with Elias Lindholm and Alex Steeves, who is slotting in for Mikey Eyssimont. Tanner Jeannot is back on the fourth line with Sean Kuraly and Mark Kastelic.
“The kids line, we call it,” Sturm said of the Khusnutdinov, Minten and Pastrnak combination. “I wasn’t sure about last game. They did a good job – overall, the lines – they did a good job. But I don’t know, I felt like there was something missing, I felt like, as a group. That’s why I went back to the kids line.”
Minten was the first-line pivot against the Capitals, too, and is handling the heightened responsibility well. The 21-year-old rookie has 30 points (15 goals, 15 assists) through 66 games.
“It’s the confidence, for sure,” Sturm said of Minten. “When you have that, I think it automatically gives you more boost. It could be his skating, could be just his calmness on the ice, playing a two-way game. I think he’s just still growing, he’s still becoming a man.”
Henri Jokiharju is also entering the lineup for the first time since Feb. 28. The 26-year-old defenseman is expected to be on the third pair with Nikita Zadorov.
“I just want him to go out and play good defensively. Play fast and close a little bit quicker,” Sturm said. “I think that’s really the message with him. Guys are pushing here, not just the forwards but also on D.”
