BostonBruins.com –– The Boston Bruins have hit the road for a matinee matchup against the Philadelphia Flyers.
Saturday’s 3 p.m. puck drop at Xfinity Mobile Arena marks the second of three regular-season meetings between the teams; the Bruins beat the Flyers 6-3 on Jan. 29.
“The Philly guys don’t like the Boston guys, let’s put it that way. They don’t like the Bruins. It’s always a physical game, it’s always a good game, I think, for the fans to watch,” head coach Marco Sturm said. “We did a really good job when they came to our building. We kept everything under control and focused on our game; that’s it. I think that is something we have to do tonight."
The B’s defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-2 on Thursday at TD Garden, and are looking to maintain their winning ways as they push for playoff positioning in the Eastern Conference. Boston sits in the second wild-card spot with 71 points.
Sturm said there would be no lineup adjustments for the forward and defensive groups.
“I feel like there was no need to change anything from last game. But again, that’s something we just have to manage,” he said.
Wait, There’s More
- Jeremy Swayman will start in net for Boston. It is the goaltender’s first game since Feb. 1 against the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Stadium Series. He earned a gold medal with Team USA at the Olympics on Sunday. Swayman has a 2.92 goals against average and a .903 save percentage through 38 games this season.
- Morgan Geekie enters Saturday’s matchup on a nine-game point streak; he has eight goals and five assists through that stretch. The 27-year-old forward leads the Bruins with 33 goals through 57 games this season – and 11 power-play goals, another team-high. Geekie is skating on the third line with Fraser Minten and Mikey Eyssimont.
- Jonathan Aspirot remains on the first pair with Charlie McAvoy. The defenseman posted an assist in Thursday’s win over Columbus; he now has five assists in the last five contests and a total of eight points through 38 games. Aspirot – who signed a two-year extension with Boston in January – is averaging 16:41 of ice time per game.
Opposing View
- The Flyers are coming off a 3-2 overtime victory over the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Thursday. Matvei Michkov scored twice, including the game-winner in OT; Trevor Zegras also had a goal. Netminder Samuel Ersson made 22 saves on 24 shots.
- Travis Konecny leads Philadelphia with 55 points (22 goals, 33 assists) through 57 games. The 28-year-old forward is skating on the first line with Zegras and Christian Dvorak. Konecny is also on the first power-play unit. Zegras – a former Boston University Terrier – has the most goals on the man advantage with eight this year.
- Garnet Hathaway logged 25 games with the Bruins in the 2022-23 season before signing as a free agent in Philadelphia. The 34-year-old forward is on the fourth line with Nikita Grebenkin and Carl Grundstrom, and has two points (one goal, one assist) through 49 games.
