Need to Know: Bruins at Flames 

CALGARY –– The Boston Bruins have another chance to get back in the win column on Monday when they face the Calgary Flames for a 9 p.m. ET matchup at Scotiabank Saddledome.​

It marks the first of two regular-season meetings between the teams, and the second contest of the B’s five-game road trip.

“They’ve always been a good home team, so it’s going to be tough. They play with a lot of pace, shoot a lot of pucks,” Elias Lindholm said. “We’ve got to commit to defense first and play solid defensively, and then usually, the rest will take care of itself.”

Lindholm spent six seasons with the Flames (2018-24) before getting traded to the Vancouver Canucks, and eventually signing in Boston in July 2024.

“We loved our time here. Our oldest son was born here, so there will always be some sort of connections to this place,” Lindholm said. “I loved my time here, but we’ve moved on and hopefully can get the two points tonight.”

Lindholm is projected to be on the first line with Morgan Geekie and Alex Steeves. Head coach Marco Sturm shuffled his forward group a bit ahead of the game against the Flames. David Pastrnak was moved to the third line with Marat Khusnutdinov and Fraser Minten.

“Those lines we put together, they have played together before and they had success. That's what we’re trying to do here moving forward,” Sturm said. “At the end of the day, I’m looking more at our team right now and how we have to match that – the work ethic that they’re going to put in at home – and playing as a five-man unit out there.”

Nikita Zadorov and the rest of the backend are taking pride in the defense-first mentality. The defenseman was previously in Calgary for three seasons, from 2021 to 2024. Zadorov is on the first pair with Charlie McAvoy and has 13 points (one goal, 12 assists) through 39 games this year.

“We know our jobs. Me and Chucky are going to play against top lines,” Zadorov said. “We want to be up there, we want to make a difference, we want to be hard against them. Every guy has a different role on this team. Obviously, mine is to be physical and keep the puck out of my net.”

Wait, There’s More

• Jonathan Aspirot will be a game-time decision, Sturm said. The defenseman suffered an upper-body injury on Dec. 11 and has not played since. Aspirot was on the second pair with Hampus Lindholm during Monday’s morning skate. He has one goal through 19 NHL games this season.
• Jeremy Swayman will start in net for Boston. The goaltender last played on Tuesday against the Montreal Canadiens and made 23 saves. Swayman has a 2.91 goals against average and a .901 save percentage through 26 games.
• Viktor Arvidsson remains on the second line with Casey Mittelstadt and Pavel Zacha. The 32-year-old forward returned from injury on Dec. 23 and has one assist in two games since then. Arvidsson is also back on the second power-play unit.

Opposing View

• The Flames are coming off a 3-2 win over the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday. Yegor Sharangovich, Ryan Lomberg and Blake Coleman scored in the victory. Netminder Dustin Wolf made 29 saves on 31 shots. Calgary has won three of its last five games.
• Nazem Kadri leads the Flames with 31 points (eight goals, 23 assists) through 38 games this year. The 35-year-old forward has been centering the first line between Sharangovich and Joel Farabee. Matt Coronato and Coleman are tied for the most goals on Calgary with 11 each.
• Johnny Beecher will play his first game against the Bruins on Monday after getting claimed off waivers by the Flames on Nov. 18. The 24-year-old forward was a first-round pick of the B’s in the 2019 NHL Draft and spent five years with the organization between Providence and Boston. Beecher has two assists through 16 games with the Flames.