Need to Know: Bruins vs. Capitals

BostonBruins.com -The Bruins' first week of game action inside the NHL's bubble has not unfolded to their liking. An exhibition loss followed by two round-robin setbacks cost the Black & Gold their top seed and cast some doubt outside the dressing room about their readiness for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

But despite a rocky start in Toronto, Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy believes his group is moving in the right direction as they prepare for Sunday's round-robin finale against the Washington Capitals.

"Our guys are not in a bad place, they're really not," Cassidy said following Saturday's practice in Toronto. "We want to win one, we want to play better, we wanted to preserve the No. 1 seed, but we have a veteran group that knows what the ultimate goal is and what's at stake.

"They know that come Tuesday or Wednesday…they know how to play playoff hockey…I do know my team pretty well and I do feel like we're trending in the right direction. I see energy now in practice the last couple days.

"I think that's just a little more clarity in our situation that came in [Friday] night - it's either the Islanders or Carolina. There's a team to start thinking about, players to start to dislike. That's part of what gets the juices flowing. I think you'll see more energy [on Sunday]."

The B's final round robin contest will determine whether the Presidents' Trophy winners will be the third or the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference when the Stanley Cup Playoffs begin next week. With a win, Boston would earn the third seed and a first-round matchup against the seventh-seeded New York Islanders. With a loss, the Bruins would drop to the fourth seed and a first-round matchup against the sixth-seeded Carolina Hurricanes.

"I think it's great that we have a challenge here going forward," said Brandon Carlo. "Obviously, this game can dictate something with seeding. Overall, I think we're just excited to play and…get back in the winning mindset again. I think we've started to develop different things throughout each game that you can look at as positive. Hopefully we can put all those things together [on Sunday] and work from there."

Set for Noon

The National Hockey League announced that puck drop for B's-Caps will be noon E.T. on Sunday. The game will be broadcast regionally on NESN and 98.5 The Sports Hub. Out-of-market viewers can watch the national television broadcast on NBCSN.

Kase to Debut

When general manager Don Sweeney traded for Ondrej Kase earlier this year, it was with the intention that the Czech winger would skate alongside countryman David Krejci to solidify Boston's second line. But the NHL's shutdown and Kase's absence during last month's training camp prohibited the Black & Gold from seeing the duo together for an extended period of time.

The hope is that Sunday's round-robin contest against the Capitals is the beginning of a lengthy partnership as Kase makes his bubble debut with Krejci and Jake DeBrusk.

"Something we planned to do a long time ago," said Cassidy. "Just has not worked out. Hopefully they're both healthy [on Sunday] at puck drop. They all looked good today."

After a delayed arrival in Toronto, Kase finally joined the full group for practice at the beginning of this week and - despite an abbreviated tune-up period - is feeling confident about the state of his game heading into Sunday's tilt with the Caps.

"I think it was a great week for me," said Kase. "The last practice today I felt very good…I think [our line] had a couple good practices together. We never played together, so I'm excited to play [on Sunday] with them. Hopefully it will be a good game for us."

Clifton Clocking In

Connor Clifton is the only regular on the Bruins' roster yet to see game action since the restart, but that will change on Sunday afternoon. The blue liner will sub in for Matt Grzelcyk on Boston's third pairing to play alongside Jeremy Lauzon.

"We're gonna give Grizz a maintenance day off," said Cassidy. "That will allow Clifton to play a game. Johnny Moore played an exhibition game, so did [Par] Lindholm. [Karson] Kuhlman played a couple, so basically every guy that may get in over time, that's kind of original depth will have now at least played a game."

Rask Starts Again

Tuukka Rask will be back between the pipes for his second consecutive start and is penciled in to play the whole game, unless game conditions dictate otherwise.

"Obviously, there's still a third seed at stake," said Cassidy. "We want to make sure he's healthy going into Game 1 [of the playoffs]. We may evaluate that after a period or two, how he's playing, how is the game going? But that's how we're starting."

Opposing View

• Like the Bruins, Washington has struggled to muster up much of anything positive through two round-robin contests, posting an 0-1-1 record after losses to Tampa Bay (shootout) and Philadelphia. The Capitals have scored just three goals in the two losses and have only one player - Radko Gudas (two assists) - with multiple points.
• Goalie Braden Holtby has played in both games, posting a 2.46 goals against average and .898 save percentage.
• Boston was 1-1-1 against the Capitals during the 2019-20 regular season - a 3-2 shootout loss on Nov. 16, a 3-2 setback on Dec. 11, and a spirited 7-3 victory on Dec. 23, which snapped an 0-6-2 home winless stretch against Washington.

Sunday's Projected Lineup

FORWARDS

BradMarchand - Patrice Bergeron - David Pastrnak

Jake DeBrusk - David Krejci - Ondrej Kase

Nick Ritchie - Charlie Coyle - Anders Bjork

Joakim Nordstrom - Sean Kuraly - Chris Wagner

DEFENSEMEN

Zdeno Chara - Charlie McAvoy

Torey Krug - Brandon Carlo

Connor Clifton - Jeremy Lauzon

GOALIES

Tuukka Rask

Jaroslav Halak

HEALTHY SCRATCHES

Matt Grzelcyk, Karson Kuhlman, Par Lindholm, and John Moore.