Need to Know: Bruins vs. Devils

BOSTON – The Bruins will play their final home game of 2023 on Saturday night when they welcome the New Jersey Devils to TD Garden. Boston will be aiming for its second consecutive victory after snapping a four-game skid on Wednesday night in Buffalo.

“That’s what we want. You want to build each game,” said Charlie Coyle. “It’s never gonna be perfect. The trajectory is never smooth, but it’s how you build within those, whether it’s wins, losses, little bumps in the road, it’s all a learning experience.

“You take that and learn from it and carry it with you because that’s only gonna help us when we go through adversity. Last year we didn’t have it a whole lot, so this year going through a little bit more than what we experienced last year.”

B’s captain Brad Marchand added that the three-day Christmas break allowed the Black & Gold a much-needed reset.

“We needed the break,” he said. “I think we felt really good coming back, not just the game against Buffalo, but the last couple days of practice have been real high energy. Guys seem to be excited and have a step back and extra jump in their step.

“Even the game against Buffalo, there’s some things we can improve upon and work on. But a great start for us coming off the break and something we can build off of.”

Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the 7 p.m. ET puck drop on NESN and 98.5 The Sports Hub:

Merkulov to Debut

Georgii Merkulov will make his NHL debut in the middle of James van Riemsdyk and Trent Frederic on Boston’s third line. Coach Jim Montgomery and the B’s veterans had messages of encouragement for the 23-year-old Russia native, who will be the fourth Bruin to make his NHL debut this season, joining Johnny Beecher, Matt Poitras, and fellow Ohio State product Mason Lohrei.

• Montgomery: “Enjoy every minute of it – it's pretty simple. It's pretty special, a special time for you personally. You're achieving your dreams since…I know he grew up in Russia but his dream was to play in the NHL...he is laser focused, his drive has been, probably, since he's 14 to play in the NHL. He left home early to come across the United States.”
• Coyle: “Just enjoy it, don’t overthink things. He’s up for a reason and that’s because of the way that he plays and the player he is. You don’t have to change a whole lot. I, of course, haven’t seen a whole lot of their games, personally, but from what I hear and why he’s up, it sounds like he’s been playing a good all-around game. He's been producing but he's been playing both sides of the puck, every zone, and playing it well. That's what we need. Just enjoy it, you always remember this one…just play hockey. I’m sure he’ll settle in after the national anthem or his first shift and we’ll help him along the way.”
• Marchand: “He’s excited. He’s a really good talent, he just has to trust his instincts and not try to do too much. Sometimes offensive guys feel like they need to produce right away but it’s just about doing the right things and trusting his game. Try to do the same thing he does in the American League. It’s a little tougher up here but you’ve got to play the right way and it just falls into place. He’s a smart player so I’m sure he’ll be fine.”

In Lineup News

• Matt Grzelcyk will return to the Bruins’ lineup after missing the last three games with an upper-body injury. He’ll play alongside Kevin Shattenkirk on the B’s third pairing, while Parker Wotherspoon will be a healthy scratch.
• Pavel Zacha will remain at wing alongside Morgan Geekie and David Pastrnak. “He knows how important he is to the Bruins success and that he plays power play, he plays penalty kill plays, both pulled goalie situations,” said Montgomery. “So, he's just knows that anytime we're doing something like that [moving him to wing], it's to get a look in to see if we can make the team better he's all in…and he's taking draws on the left side, Geekie takes them on the right side. He's center down low in those situations, so it's not that big of a change for us, lie in my mind or his mind.”
• Coyle will, once again, man the middle between Jake DeBrusk and Marchand, who said the chemistry with his new centerman has continued to build throughout the season. “I think it's much better now than where it was at the beginning of the year,” said Marchand. “I think we're understanding how to play with each other more and more...we're feeling much more confident with one another and it's showing."

Opposing View

The Devils are on the second end of a back-to-back, which began on Friday night with their third straight win – a 6-2 victory over the Ottawa Senators. New Jersey is 19-13-2 for 40 points, which has them one point ahead of Washington for the East’s second Wild Card spot.

New Jersey has gone 4-2-1 since its 2-1 overtime win over the Bruins on Dec. 13.

“They play fast, but I was impressed – they don’t give up much defensively,” said Marchand. “They close really quickly in D-zone. They kind of swarm you and don’t give up much, at least that’s how it felt when we played them. You’ve got to compete for everything you get against this group. Expecting a good game.”

Jack Hughes paces the Devils with 43 points in 29 games, while also leading the club with 15 goals along with Tyler Toffoli. Jesper Bratt is second on the team with 42 points (14 goals, 28 assists), while Hughes’ rookie brother Luke has a 6-14—20 line in 34 games.

Former Bruins forward Erik Haula is sixth on the team in scoring with 16 points (eight goals, eight assists) in 29 games.

Vitek Vanecek is 13-6-1 with a 3.26 goals against average and .885 save percentage.

Saturday’s Projected Lineup

FORWARDS

Brad Marchand – Charlie Coyle – Jake DeBrusk

Pavel Zacha – Morgan Geekie – David Pastrnak

James van Riemsdyk – Georgii Merkulov – Trent Frederic

Danton Heinen – Johnny Beecher – Jakub Lauko

DEFENESMEN

Mason Lohrei – Charlie McAvoy

Hampus Lindholm – Brandon Carlo

Matt Grzelcyk – Kevin Shattenkirk

GOALIES

Linus Ullmark

Jeremy Swayman