DALLAS –– The Boston Bruins are closing out their four-game road trip on Tuesday with an 8 p.m. ET matchup against the Dallas Stars.
The B’s swept the West Coast portion of the trip, beating the San Jose Sharks, Anaheim Ducks, and Los Angeles Kings, extending their win streak to five games.
The last time the Bruins were at American Airlines Center on March 31, they lost 6-3. Head coach Marco Sturm is looking for a response from his group.
“I really hope they remember the game here last year. I really do. Because we got embarrassed here; we were going home, too. It was on us, and hopefully we will have a better result than a year ago,” Sturm said. “It’s always a tough one, but we’re feeling good right now and playing against a really good hockey club over there. We’re going to have our hands full – it’s going to be a great night for us.”
Pavel Zacha will return to the lineup after sitting out on Saturday in LA due to an upper-body injury. Zacha was a full participant in morning skate, and centered the first line between David Pastrnak and JJ Peterka.
“Feeling good. Feeling back to 100%. So it’s good; it was a quick turnaround,” Zacha said. “I think we’ve played some teams that have a lot of speed, too, and we were able to play together and play in a structure. That’s something that is winning us games, so have to stick to that and keep doing the same thing.”
Nikita Zadorov will also reenter the lineup on the second pair with Will Borgen. The 31-year-old defenseman was a healthy scratch against the Kings. Jonathan Aspirot, who played in Zadorov’s place on Saturday, will draw out.
“It’s always tough for me in general when you make this kind of decision. But one of the reasons we did it, not just because of discipline, but I also believe he will be a much better hockey player when he comes back,” Sturm said of Zadorov. “He’s just got to play his game and be rock solid, and we’ll be fine.”
