Need to Know: Bruins at Capitals

WASHINGTON –– The Boston Bruins open their three-game road trip on Saturday with an afternoon matchup against the Washington Capitals.

The 3 p.m. puck drop marks the third and final time the teams will meet this regular season. The Bruins beat the Capitals 3-1 on Oct. 8 and March 7. 

“That shows you that’s the kind of style of game we need again tonight. Low scoring, as much as we can. It is going to be a tight-checking game,” head coach Marco Sturm said. “Try to be ready for this one. Especially in this building, it’s always a hard one. That’s what we will try to do.” 

Sturm made some adjustments to his forward group. Morgan Geekie and Fraser Minten are joining David Pastrnak on the first line, while Elias Lindholm moves to center the third line alongside Marat Khusnutdinov and Tanner Jeannot. Mikey Eyssimont will slot onto the fourth line with Sean Kuraly and Mark Kastelic.

“We just need a little bit more, not just out of David, just in general. Geeks, too. It is a big man’s game right now, and those guys need to drive the bus,” Sturm said. “And maybe it helps a guy like Elias, too, to realize he needs to get in different areas to be better, too. We’ll see how it goes.” 

The Bruins’ most consistent combination of Casey Mittelstadt, Pavel Zacha and Viktor Arvidsson remains the same. The defensive pairs are unchanged, as well.

Wait, There’s More

• Jeremy Swayman will start in net for Boston. The goaltender last played on Thursday against the San Jose Sharks, making 24 saves. Swayman has a 2.79 goals against average and a .905 save percentage this season. Saturday will be his 44th start.

• Pastrnak is on a four-game point streak heading into the matchup with the Capitals. The 29-year-old forward had a goal and an assist on Thursday, and a team-leading 78 points (24 goals, 54 assists) through 60 games.

• Jeannot leads the B’s with 185 hits this season; Boston is fourth in the league with a cumulative 1,516 hits through 65 games. Jeannot has 21 points (six goals, 15 assists). He is also on the penalty kill, which stands at 85.7% since returning from the Olympic break – third-best in the league in that time frame.

Opposing View

• The Capitals most recently beat the Buffalo Sabres 2-1 on Thursday at KeyBank Center. Ryan Leonard and Jakob Chychrun scored in the win, and netminder Charlie Lindgren made 29 saves on 30 shots. Washington is in sixth place in the Metropolitan Division and trails Boston by five points for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.  

• Leonard enters Saturday on a five-game point streak; he has four goals and one assist through that stretch. The 21-year-old forward has been skating on the third line with Aliaksei Protas and Dylan Strome. Leonard – who played two seasons of NCAA hockey at Boston College (2023-25) – has 35 points (14 goals, 21 assists) through 60 games in his rookie season.

• Chychrun is tied with Alex Ovechkin for most points on the Capitals with 51 (23 goals, 28 assists). The 27-year-old defenseman is averaging a team-high 23:44 of time on ice while on the second pair with Timothy Liljegren, whom Washington acquired from the Sharks on the March 6 trade deadline.