Need to Know: Bruins vs. Devils

BOSTON - The Bruins will look a bit more like themselves on Tuesday night against the New Jersey Devils as they welcome Brad Marchand and Brandon Carlo back to the lineup. Boston hopes the returns of both players provide a boost to the team following Sunday's shutout loss to the Devils.
"There's been guys out a lot, we've rarely had our full team," said Marchand, who missed the last two games due to a false positive COVID test. "We weren't having any problem scoring to start the year when we had a majority of our lineup together. But we definitely have it in the room, we don't look at our team as being a grinding team.
"We definitely have the ability to score goals. We've got to put it together. It's tough when lines are being shaken up and guys are in and out of the lineup…we're a good team, we're not panicking, we're not nervous. We're just gonna keep grinding away and it will go our way."
Here's everything you need to know ahead of Tuesday night's 7 p.m. puck drop on NESN and 98.5 The Sports Hub:

Another False Alarm

Marchand is now the third Bruin this month to produce a false positive COVID test (Charlie Coyle and Jake DeBrusk both had similar issues that kept them out of the lineup). The winger, while frustrated, said it is all part of the process as the NHL tries to keep the players, coaches, and team staffs safe and healthy during the pandemic.
"It's frustrating. It's part of what's going on right now. You never want to miss a game, never want to miss a day on the ice but every team is going through it," said Marchand, who needed to produce a pre-determined number of negative tests before returning (he noted that he produced three before Sunday's game against the Devils).
"This has happened a few times to our team now and it's happening to every team. It's part of the process. Again, we're thankful for the opportunity to play. This is a bump in the road, this is what comes with it to play the games and do the job.
"We're not gonna complain about this with everything that's going on and what people are going through to miss a couple days isn't a big deal. Back at it tonight."
Sean Kuraly and Jake DeBrusk remain in COVID protocols, though Kuraly skated on his own before practice for the second consecutive day. He was joined by Bruins winger Ondrej Kase, who has been out with an upper-body injury since the second game of the season.

Happy Returns

Carlo makes his return to the lineup after suffering a concussion on a high and heavy hit from Washington's Tom Wilson on March 5. The blue liner was briefly hospitalized after struggling with blurry vision in his right eye following the hit and was forced to miss the B's last 10 games.
"I got cleared [on Tuesday]," said Carlo, who began skating on his own some 10 days ago. "They asked me if I would need a little time with the rust and everything, but I'm super excited to get back and play in the lineup. Any chance that I was gonna have where they would allow me to pop back in there, I would take.
"I've had enough of the viewing party from Level 9. I'm excited to get back out there and help and be an energetic voice on the bench."
The 24-year-old also struggled with his mood and memory in the days following the hit, symptoms that differed from the first concussion he suffered late in his rookie season on a hit from the Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin that forced him to miss the playoffs.
"First few days were kind of tough, a lot of emotion involved with it," said Carlo, who will be back alongside Matt Grzelcyk on Boston's second pair. "Different from the other concussion that I had. I felt like my mood was really off and for the first bit there that night, my vision was a little blurry and messed up, couldn't really see much out of my right eye. That's why I went to the hospital.
"After that cleared up, I knew it was gonna be a process of taking time and taking those first couple days easy. I definitely still had a lot of lingering concussion issues. Over this last week, I've felt fantastic, felt so much better. Things with my cognitive memory and everything have started to come back. I'm feeling great in that regard."
When it comes to the hit itself, Carlo said he does not believe it was necessary for Wilson to follow through with the check in the manner that he did and would have been fine with taking contact in that situation had it been through his body. Carlo went on to say that he felt "good about how everything was handled" by the NHL in regard to Wilson's seven-game suspension and holds no ill will toward the player.
"After the situation, I was more so worried about myself not necessarily him," said Carlo. "Wanted to get back on track for myself. I love being in the lineup, I love playing hockey. I love my job here as a Bruin. My focus wasn't on him or what he was going to receive…I think that particular player, he plays the game hard. I respect the way that he plays the game hard. Do I think it was necessary for him to follow through in the area that he did? Not really.
"But overall, the game happens fast, things happen fast. I've been in that position as well, trying to hit somebody. I'm not gonna say he meant to go right through my head, I think he's just trying to finish the hit, finish the play, finish me in the D-zone. Unfortunately, I didn't see him. I was involved with another player and I was trying to grasp where the puck was.
"That's all I really remember from it, aside from seeing it on video. It just happened pretty fast. I don't have any ill will towards the player or the situation."

Move to the Middle

Trent Frederic will move to his natural center position on Tuesday night to play the middle between Anton Blidh and Karson Kuhlman on Boston's fourth line. Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy hopes that the switch will put Frederic in a better spot to succeed, particularly when it comes to producing a strong forecheck and puck possession in the offensive zone.
"We've talked about putting players in the best spots. We haven't had a lot of openings [at center]," said Cassidy. "Obviously when Kuraly had to leave for protocol it did open up a spot. We looked at Jack [Studnicka]…[Greg] McKegg, there's some different guys that can go in there with Freddy.
"We like the progress in his game. Might get more touches in the middle. It wasn't put together to necessarily drive offense. The people above that line should be taking care of that part of it. Hopefully we get some secondary [scoring]."

By the Numbers

• Patrice Bergeron is five points short of his 900th NHL point and three points shy of tying Rick Middleton for fourth place on the club's all-time scoring list.
• The Bruins host the Devils tonight in the sixth of eight games between these teams this season and the third of four at TD Garden.

Tuesday's Projected Lineup

FORWARDS
Brad Marchand - Patrice Bergeron - David Pastrnak
Nick Ritchie - David Krejci - Craig Smith
Anders Bjork - Charlie Coyle - Zach Senyshyn
Anton Blidh - Trent Frederic - Karson Kuhlman
DEFENSEMEN
Jeremy Lauzon - Charlie McAvoy
Matt Grzelcyk - Brandon Carlo
Jakub Zboril - Connor Clifton
GOALIES
Jaroslav Halak
Daniel Vladar