Need to Know: Bruins vs. Penguins

BOSTON - The Bruins will be looking to sweep their four-game homestand on Thursday night as they welcome the Pittsburgh Penguins back to TD Garden. But they will do so with a number of changes to the forward group as early-season injuries continue to disrupt Bruce Cassidy's lineup.
Here's a rundown of the alterations to expect as the B's aim for their fourth straight victory:

• Jake DeBrusk will not play after suffering a lower-body injury on Tuesday night when he was hip-checked by Pittsburgh center Sidney Crosby in the first period. The winger is considered to be day-to-day after undergoing an MRI that revealed no structural damage.
  "Until he's back on the ice, can't predict what his timeline will be," said Cassidy. "We'll see in [on Friday morning]. Obviously, he has to travel if he's gonna play with us. That will be addressed [on Friday] through the medical staff. We're gonna have to find a way tonight down another winger. Hopefully get a quick turnaround for him."
  - With DeBrusk joining Ondrej Kase and David Pastrnak on the shelf, Cassidy has been forced to get creative on the right side. As such, he'll give Craig Smith a look as the top-line right wing alongside Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand.
  "It's gonna be fun. Two great players," said Smith. "Just watching them the last couple games, I'm taking it all in…they play with a lot of tempo. I think that could be a great fit. Gonna try to get in there and do my best, have some fun, use my legs, and try to create that way. It should be a lot of fun tonight. We'll let it rip."
  - Charlie Coyle, meanwhile, will shift from center to right wing on Boston's second line with Nick Ritchie and David Krejci.
  "I don't think I change a whole lot," said Coyle. "I want to play my game and do what I do well. You hope you gel and mesh well with the other two guys. We all know who Krech is as a player, he's awesome, pass-first type of guy. Ritchie, we've seen him and his game progress and progress, putting up numbers and just being a big guy out there and using his size. I think we all know what to expect from each other."
  - Coyle's shift to center opened up a spot for Par Lindholm, who will make his season debut in the middle of Jack Studnicka and Trent Frederic.
  "We're gonna put Lindholm in. He'll come off the taxi squad," said Cassidy. "Coyle we've talked about keeping him in the middle of the ice as much as possible. This is just necessary right now unfortunately. We also like the Coyle, Smith, and Frederic line. We wanted to keep them together but that really puts stress on who's gonna play right wing with Krejci and Bergy. This is just a fix we feel will help us for tonight.
  "We get last change so there's a little bit of thinking there and then Saturday we'll see who's available to us. We'll see how DeBrusk is doing, we'll see how Pastrnak's doing and go from there and probably get back to a little bit more of what our lines look like previously."
  - On the back end, Matt Grzelcyk appears ready to make a return after missing the last two games with an injury. If he is ready to go, Connor Clifton would come out of the lineup.
  "He was out [on the ice] this morning. Feels great," said Cassidy. "Assuming he gets through warmup and feels that he can play, then he's in."
  - The Bruins will also have a different look in goal as Jaroslav Halak gets the start with Daniel Vladar as his backup. Tuukka Rask was banged up on Pittsburgh's first goal on Tuesday night - though he stayed in the game - and did not participate in Wednesday's practice.
  Cassidy opted to give Rask a full day off on Thursday with Halak already scheduled to start and is hoping that Rask will be ready to play on Saturday in Washington.
  "We are going to use Vladar only because we're going to give [Rask] a full day off," said Cassidy. "We kind of went through this, the decision was made that if he is not going to start then let's keep him out of any worries of having to put him in if something should happen to Jaro. That's the thinking. He'll go back in Saturday. That's the plan right now."

In Their Hearts

The Bruins will have Bishop Feehan High School (Attleboro, Mass.) hockey player A.J. Quetta in their hearts on Thursday night. The senior was severely injured on Tuesday during a game against Pope Francis High School. In the two days following the incident, the hockey world has rallied around Quetta and his family.
"I think the big thing is, just the hockey community rallying around when that happens," said Coyle, a native of Weymouth, Mass. "You see so much support. A.J. and his family are not alone by any means. We've got so many people behind them, supporting them, helping out as best they can, sending well wishes.
"I hear he's a strong kid as it is and the family is as well. We're behind them. I know a lot of people are. It's just great to see the support when tragedy strikes. We know there's brighter days ahead."

Opposing View

The Penguins are in the midst of a transition after the surprising departure of general manager Jim Rutherford on Wednesday afternoon. Rutherford, who helped guide Pittsburgh to back-to-back Stanley Cup championships in 2016 and 2017, resigned after a seven-year run with the club.
The 71-year-old cited personal reasons for his departure. Assistant GM Patrik Allvin will serve as interim general manager.

By The Numbers

• The Bruins host the Penguins tonight in the second of eight games between these teams this season and the second of four to be played at TD Garden this year.
• The Bruins conclude their 4-game homestand tonight (3-0-0 so far).
• The Bruins and Penguins are meeting for the 212th time in their histories with the Bruins having a 117-65-21-8 record and 805-649 scoring advantage in those games.
• The Bruins are 73-22-6-4 vs. the Penguins all-time on home ice with a 437-288 scoring edge in those 105 contests.
• The Bruins are 7-3-1 in their last 11 games vs. the Penguins and they are 14-4-3 in their last 21 overall games of this all-time series. They have taken points out of their last 12 games in Boston at 11-0-1, including wins in their last nine straight, with their last regulation home loss vs. the Penguins a 3-2 setback on Oct. 13, 2013.

Thursday's Projected Lineup

FORWARDS
Brad Marchand - Patrice Bergeron - Craig Smith
Nick Ritchie - David Krejci - Charlie Coyle
Trent Frederic - Par Lindholm - Jack Studnicka
Anders Bjork - Sean Kuraly - Chris Wagner
DEFENSEMEN
Jeremy Lauzon - Charlie McAvoy
Matt Grzelcyk - Brandon Carlo
Jakub Zboril - Kevan Miller
GOALIES
Jaroslav Halak
Daniel Vladar