Need to Know: Bruins at Penguins

BostonBruins.com –– The Boston Bruins are on the road Thursday to face the Pittsburgh Penguins for a 7 p.m. puck drop at PPG Paints Arena.

The B’s have won their last two games, most recently beating the Vegas Golden Knights 3-2 in a shootout on Monday at TD Garden.

"It's a fast team," head coach Marco Sturm said of the Penguins. "Always good at home too. That's going to be our job to stop them...we've seen it in the past, that's why our puck management has got to be really good tonight."

Frederic Brunet will reenter the lineup for the first time since Oct. 27. The 23-year-old defenseman is slotting in on the third pair alongside Mason Lohrei, while Jonathan Aspirot and Connor Clifton sit out. Brunet has four points (one goal, three assists) through 10 games of his rookie campaign.

"Just simplify his game again," said Sturm. "I think that's what he did really well at the start and got away a little bit, not much but, again, enough I would say. By him playing very, very simple because his legs are his strength, I would say, and his brain so just got to use that to his advantage."

​Matt Poitras will draw out of the lineup due to injury. The 22-year-old forward broke his nose after taking an elbow to the face on Monday. Poitras participated in Wednesday’s practice at Warrior Ice Arena wearing a bubble shield. Sean Kuraly will center the fourth line in Poitras’ place; the veteran last played on Saturday against Chicago.

"He could play if we need him, but he's not 100 percent yet," said Sturm. "He had a little procedure [on Wednesday] so he's still recovering but he's doing fine...was not a big deal, but had to get it done."

Wait, There’s More

• Michael DiPietro will start in net for Boston. The 27-year-old goaltender last played on Saturday in the 5-4 overtime win against the Chicago Blackhawks. DiPietro has a 2.26 goals-against average and a .929 save percentage through four games.

• James Hagens logged his sixth goal of the season on Monday. The 20-year-old forward has a total of 12 points through 16 games, which leads all NHL rookies and is third-most on the Bruins. Hagens remains on the third line with Casey Mittelstadt and Elias Lindholm, who is on a two-game point streak.

• Morgan Geekie enters Thursday’s contest on a two-game goal streak. The 28-year-old forward has 11 points (three goals, eight assists) in 16 games. He is expected to be on the second line with Fraser Minten and Marat Khusnutdinov, as well as the first power-play unit; two of his tallies have been on the man advantage this year.

Opposing View

• The Penguins are coming off a 3-2 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday at PPG Paints Arena. Tommy Novak and Rickard Rakell scored for Pittsburgh, and netminder Arturs Silovs made 20 saves. The Penguins have dropped three of their last five games.

• Erik Karlsson leads Pittsburgh with 16 points (three goals, 13 assists) through 15 games. The 36-year-old defenseman is projected to be on the first pair with Samuel Girard, while averaging a team-high 23:26 of ice time per night. Karlsson is also on the first power-play unit; two of his goals have come on the man advantage.

• Evgeni Malkin leads the Penguins with six goals in 13 games. The 40-year-old forward missed last game with a lower-body injury, but is available for Thursday’s matchup against Boston. Malkin is expected to be on the second line with Ben Kindel and Egor Chinakhov.