Need to Know: Bruins vs. Sharks

BOSTON - The Bruins, aiming to extend their points streak to 14 games, will have two forwards making their TD Garden debuts on Tuesday night against the San Jose Sharks, as the recently acquired Charlie Coyle and Marcus Johansson suit up on home ice for the first time in Black & Gold.
For Coyle, the contest will bring with it plenty of extra meaning. After growing up attending games on Causeway Street as a fan, the 26-year-old Weymouth native will be playing in his hometown with the Spoked-B across his chest.
"It's going to be exciting, obviously," said Coyle, who attended Weymouth High School, Thayer Academy, and Boston University. "I've played in the Garden a little bit in high school, college, but to be there with the Spoked-B on will be pretty exciting. It will be a lot of emotions.
"I have a lot of family and friends that have already bought tickets. Everyone's excited. It's nice to be back home and be closer to family. It's gonna be a fun game."

Coyle performed well in his Bruins debut on Saturday in St. Louis, manning the middle on Boston's third line between Peter Cehlarik and David Backes. The trio did not find the scoresheet, but generated a number of offensive chances.
"It was good," said Coyle, who also netted a nifty shootout tally. "I didn't know a lot about Cehlarik before, honestly. But I've watched Backes, he's been in the league for a while, a pretty good player. I grew up watching him over years, playing against him. He's a great player in the league. And Cehlarik has a ton of skill.
"Just talking to them before was huge and them kind of telling me what kind of games they play and their tendencies, that helps going into it."
Johansson, meanwhile, will get his introduction to the Garden faithful after being acquired from the New Jersey Devils at Monday's trade deadline in exchange for a 2019 second-round pick and a 2020 fourth-rounder. The 28-year-old has played all three forward positions and has posted 12 points (six goals, six assists over his last 13 games.
According to Bruins general manager Don Sweeney, "Marcus said, 'I'm going to play wherever you guys want me to play and feel comfortable playing there.' So, that's a player with an awful lot of games under his belt in different situations. He's got playoff experience, and I think the versatility is something that remains to be an important part for us."
Sweeney is hopeful that both players, who have combined for 19 goals at even strength this season help beef up Boston's 5-on-5 secondary scoring.
"They do understand what their identity as a group is," Sweeney said of his team. "And I don't think we'll deviate from that. I think we've complemented that, maybe given them a bit of a buffer by bringing in players that can produce, certainly at the 5-on-5 level."

Pastrnak Skates

David Pastrnak skated on his own before Monday's practice without a stick, marking the first time that the winger has hit the ice since undergoing a thumb procedure two weeks ago. Boston's leading scorer (31 goals) will wear a cast for at least the next two weeks, before transitioning to a cast.
"Then it's a matter of comfort," said Sweeney. "He won't have any restrictions at that point in time…he's a tough kid that wants to play hockey. You already saw him skating today. The first thing he said to me is, 'I'll be back sooner than anyone expects.'
"And I think he'll be perfectly fine. It'll be a little bit different just because he's had a procedure done, but he'll get past it. He'll be fine. I spoke with the doctor today, and he feels great about where David's at."

Miller Sits Out

Kevan Miller did not practice on Monday because of an upper-body injury suffered in Vegas and is day-to-day. The blue liner blocked a shot and "it started acting up a little bit" according to Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy, who said he doesn't believe the injury is serious but that Miller may miss Tuesday's game with San Jose.
Torey Krug, who did not play in overtime on Saturday in St. Louis because of a lower-body injury, was on the ice for practice and felt fine, per Cassidy.
Cehlarik and Karson Kuhlman were assigned to Providence on Monday afternoon.

Opposing View

The Sharks and Bruins meet just eight days after their epic overtime battle, which the Bruins won on Charlie McAvoy's winner late in the extra session. San Jose has won two of three since the loss to the B's and is second in the Pacific Division with 82 points.
"San Jose I think is a really, really good team. I think the challenge in the West, so we focus on that [Tuesday]," said Sweeney. "I don't know if [our team would] really like to script the one in San Jose as to how they would like to win by, but they found a way to win. Earlier in the year I don't know whether or not the group would've felt like they could've won that game…outscored a team like that, so it says a lot about them."
San Jose acquired forward Gustav Nyquist from the Detroit Red Wings at Monday's trade deadline in exchange for a 2019 second-round pick and a 2020 third-round pick. Nyquist has 16 goals and 33 assists in 62 games this season.
Defenseman Brent Burns paces San Jose with 70 points in 63 games, while Joe Pavelski leads the way with 35 goals.

Monday's Practice Lineup

Brad Marchand - Patrice Bergeron - Danton Heinen
Jake DeBrusk - David Krejci - Karson Kuhlman
Peter Cehlarik - Charlie Coyle - David Backes
Sean Kuraly - Noel Acciari - Chris Wagner
Joakim Nordstrom
Zdeno Chara - Charlie McAvoy
Torey Krug - Brandon Carlo
Matt Grzelcyk - John Moore - Steven Kampfer
Tuukka Rask
Jaroslav Halak