Need to Know: Bruins vs. Red Wings

BOSTON - The Bruins will look to continue their strong play at TD Garden - they sport a 9-2-0 home record, tops in the National Hockey League - as they welcome the Detroit Red Wings to town on Saturday night.
The teams have split the previous two matchups this season, with the Bruins cruising to an 8-2 win at the Garden on Oct. 13 and the Red Wings taking a 3-2 overtime decision on Thanksgiving Eve in Detroit.

"They've got a lot of speed, especially up front, so we've got to try to possess pucks as best we can and make sure we're not spending too much time in our own zone," said Matt Grzelcyk. "Kind of take time and space away from their forwards. We've got to be on our toes early, for sure."

Here's everything else you need to know ahead of tonight's game with the Red Wings (7 p.m. on NESN and 98.5 The Sports Hub):

Carlo Back In

After sitting out the last nine games with an upper-body injury, Brandon Carlo is expected to return to the lineup. Steven Kampfer will be the healthy scratch on the back end.
"I was kind of on the cusp of being back in the lineup these last couple games," said Carlo. "Overall I'm excited to get back in there tonight. Just going to keep it simple and continue to build off of where I was at before the injury."
Carlo will be back alongside Torey Krug, reuniting a pairing that was together for most of last season.
"It might take a couple shifts, but we'll start finding the chemistry we had last year and build off of that," said Carlo. "I feel like I know him pretty well on the ice. I know his voice and whatnot. It's always fun to play with him and I'm excited for that.
"I love playing with him. I feel like we have a good friendship off the ice and good chemistry on the ice. It's a good thing we can continue to build off of. I hope he feels the same about me."

Krejci Good to Go

Despite losing a couple of teeth on Thursday night thanks to a hit from Islanders defenseman Thomas Hickey, David Krejci will be in the lineup. The centerman took a maintenance day on Friday and visited the team dentist for repairs.
"I've been in the dental office many times," said Krejci. "I had fake ones up there. One goes and they were attached, so lost both of them. Had some dental work done yesterday, it's all good now."
Krejci was thankful that former teammate Johnny Boychuk fetched the chiclets from the ice, but said the repairs included some replacements.
"It's nice of him, but obviously I didn't use that one," Krejci said with a smile.

Status Quo Up Front

Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said after morning skate that he won't be making any changes to his forward lines, which means that Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson will be a healthy scratch for the second straight game. Cassidy is not concerned about JFK -two goals in nine games - sitting for the short term, saying the young pivot can learn a thing or two from watching the game from afar.
"One weekend of missing games down there to be with our group and watch, so next time you go in you hope it's a motivating factor as well for some of those younger guys. We'll see," said Cassidy.

Finding His Game

Anders Bjork was assigned to Providence on Thursday after notching a goal and two assists in 20 games with the Black & Gold. Cassidy hopes that the 22-year-old uses his time with the P-Bruins to reach the right balance between his high-end offensive skills and his play away from the puck.
"Find a little bit more of his offensive game and how to do that," Cassidy said of the message to Bjork. "We felt that he wasn't getting inside enough. He wasn't driving deep enough wide….finding the happy medium. Hit the net with his shot, you don't get that many. Not every shot has to be a post and in type of effort. When it's there pick your corner, otherwise let's find some 2-for-1s, where you're getting a second chance.
"I thought away from the puck he'd been doing what we'd been asking, for the most part….go enjoy playing the game again. Try to find that side where you're a dynamic offensive player without sacrificing everything away from the puck, we'll see if it works out."

Saturday's Projected Lineup

Brad Marchand - Colby Cave - David Pastrnak
Danton Heinen - David Krejci - Jake DeBrusk
Ryan Donato - Joakim Nordstrom - Noel Acciari
Chris Wagner - Sean Kuraly - David Backes
Torey Krug - Brandon Carlo
John Moore - Matt Grzelcyk
Jeremy Lauzon - Connor Clifton
Tuukka Rask
Jaroslav Halak
Scratches: Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson and Steven Kampfer