Need to Know: Bruins vs. Mammoth

BOSTON –– The Boston Bruins are opening a five-game homestand on Tuesday when they host the Utah Mammoth for a 7 p.m. matchup.​

It is the second of two regular-season meetings between the teams; the Bruins fell 3-2 to the Mammoth in Salt Lake City on Oct. 19. Now, though, the B’s feel like a new group.

​“We looked at the game from when we played in Utah; we did some dumb stuff there. We came a long way, I can tell you that,” head coach Marco Sturm said. “It’s a good team. Very skilled, they play a high-paced game. We have to make sure we keep them off most of the time, on their long game.”

The Bruins are coming back from a three-game road trip, having collected four of the six available points. The team has won four of its last five games.

Charlie McAvoy returned to the lineup for Thursday’s win against the Winnipeg Jets after missing 11 games due to injury. He will remain on the first pair with Nikita Zadorov at TD Garden against the Mammoth.

“Happy to be back. Any time you’re out, you’re trying to put in a lot of work to get back. It’s always rewarding to come back,” McAvoy said. “We’ve been a really good team at home this year, so looking forward to keeping that going.”

Viktor Arvidsson (lower body) and Jonathan Aspirot (upper body) will not play on Tuesday after suffering injuries in Winnipeg, Sturm said. The next-man-up mentality is nothing new to the Bruins this season.

“It’s been really good. I think you’ve seen it this year, how it’s progressed when we started to understand Sturm’s system better, as the team has continued to grow and grow together,” McAvoy said. “We’ve pulled a lot of guys in here that we’ve gotten a lot out of; guys who have come in and been part of winning efforts. The group is big right now, but everybody brings something special to it.”

Wait, There’s More

• Sean Kuraly enters Tuesday’s game on a three-game point streak; he has posted one goal and three assists through that stretch. The 32-year-old forward is centering the fourth line between Tanner Jeannot and Mark Kastelic, and is also on the penalty kill. Kuraly has a total of 10 points (three goals, seven assists) through 33 games this year.
• Jeremy Swayman will start in net for Boston. The goaltender last played on Sunday against the Minnesota Wild, making 25 saves. Swayman has a 2.83 goals against average and a .908 save percentage through 21 games.
• Victor Soderstrom was a first-round pick of the Arizona Coyotes – now the Utah Mammoth – in the 2019 NHL Draft. The defenseman spent four years with the organization before his rights were traded to Chicago in March and then to Boston in June. Soderstrom was recalled from Providence on Dec. 4 and is skating on the third pair with Mason Lohrei.

Opposing View

• The Mammoth are coming off a 5-4 overtime win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday at PPG Paints Arena. Michael Carcone had two goals, and Nate Schmidt, Sean Durzi and Dylan Guenther also scored in the victory. Netminder Karel Vejmelka made 12 saves on 16 shots.
• Nick Schmaltz leads Utah with 30 points (12 goals, 18 assists) through 34 games. The 29-year-old forward has been centering the first line between Clayton Keller and J.J. Peterka. Guenther has the most goals for the Mammoth with 15; four of which have been on the power play, which is another team-high.
• Mikhail Sergachev leads all Mammoth defensemen with 22 points (four goals, 18 assists) through 34 games; he has three points in the last four games. Sergachev is on the first pair with Durzi, and averages the most ice time per night out of all Utah skaters with 24:27. He is also on the first power-play unit.