Need to Know: Bruins at Sharks

SAN JOSE –– Elias Lindholm is officially back.

The forward will be in the lineup for the Boston Bruins’ 8 p.m. game against the San Jose Sharks on Sunday at SAP Center after being out with a lower-body injury since Oct. 30. Lindholm is projected to center the second line between Alex Steeves and Morgan Geekie.

“He is ready to go,” head coach Marco Sturm said. “He is a big part of our team. As a player, you know when you come back, he’s been injured for a while, so we just have to help him get up to speed a little bit. He feels good, he feels ready to go. Hopefully, he is going to have a good game.”

Lindholm had nine points (four goals, five assists) in 13 games before his injury. All four of Lindholm’s goals have come on the power play. Sturm said Lindholm will be back on the first unit on Sunday.

The B’s are looking to continue their success on the road following a 2-1 overtime win against the Los Angeles Kings on Friday. Geekie – who is second in the league in scoring – had both Boston goals to secure the victory.

“It seems like we have played already a lot of those kinds of teams. With very good speed and transition, just like the Sharks,” Sturm said. “For me, they look like a little different team than in the past. We just have to be ready. They played last night, so we have to make sure we have a good start today.”

Wait, There’s More

• Jeremy Swayman will start in net for Boston for the second consecutive game. The goaltender made 31 saves in Friday’s win against the Los Angeles Kings. Swayman has a 2.84 goals against average and a .902 save percentage through 14 games.
• Marat Khusnutdinov is moving to the left wing on the first line, while Matěj Blümel is a healthy scratch. Khusnutdinov will play alongside Pavel Zacha and David Pastrnak. The 23-year-old forward has six points (three goals, three assists) in 18 games.
• Mikey Eyssimont played 20 games for the Sharks in the 2024-25 season. The forward signed a two-year deal with the Bruins in July. Eyssimont has been skating on the fourth line with Riley Tufte and Sean Kuraly.

Opposing View

• The Sharks are entering the second game of a back-to-back; they fell 3-2 to the Ottawa Senators on Saturday at SAP Center. John Klingberg and Barclay Goodrow scored in the loss, and goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic made 24 saves.
• Macklin Celebrini leads San Jose in both goals (13) and points (32) through 22 games. The 19-year-old forward was the first overall pick in 2024 and is centering the first line between Philipp Kurashev and Will Smith. Celebrini played a year of NCAA hockey at Boston University during the 2023-24 season before turning pro.
• Dmitry Orlov, who played for the Bruins in the 2022-23 season, is on the first pair with Timothy Liljegren. The 34-year-old defenseman has 12 assists through 22 games this year. Orlov is also on the second penalty-kill unit.