BOSTON –– The Boston Bruins open their November schedule on Tuesday when they host the Vegas Golden Knights for a 7 p.m. puck drop at TD Garden. They will also celebrate Military Appreciation Night.
The B’s will play nine of their 11 games on home ice this month. Boston most recently beat the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday in a 5-4 comeback, overtime showing. The team is looking to build on that against Vegas.
“It is huge. We want to be a good home team like last year,” Elias Lindholm said. “Just have to keep playing, get the wins. We enjoy playing in front of the fans, so it has been good.”
Lindholm enters the matchup with five points (two goals, three assists) in his last five games. The 31-year-old forward scored the game-winning goal in OT on Saturday, marking his fifth tally of the season and 12th point – which is second-best on the Bruins, only behind David Pastrnak, who has 19. Lindholm remains centering the third line between Casey Mittelstadt and James Hagens.
“It feels good. It is easier to play when you’re healthy,” Lindholm said. “For me and Casey, we try to be good two-way players and obviously we want James to play his game. It’s been great for us…Keeps me kind of young. He has a lot of energy and plays the right way. Goes to the hard areas, plays good defensively. So far, it’s been good.”
Matt Poitras will reenter the lineup after being a healthy scratch last game. The 22-year-old forward, who has seven points (four goals, three assists), will center the fourth line between Tanner Jeannot and Mark Kastelic while Sean Kuraly draws out. There will be no changes on the backend.
“Young guys being consistent – the one thing we noticed a little bit is probably the play without the puck,” head coach Marco Sturm said of Poitras. “He has been playing pretty good with the puck, scoring some big goals for us. Now we just have to focus a little bit in our end. Other than that, he’s been very good this year.”
