BOSTON –– The Boston Bruins are closing out their three-game homestand with a matinee matchup against the Carolina Hurricanes.
Saturday’s 1 p.m. puck drop marks the first time the teams have met this season. The Bruins are looking to build off their two-game win streak, most recently beating the New York Islanders and Buffalo Sabres on home ice.
“I just mentioned it to my guys – it’s one of the hottest teams, especially in the first period,” head coach Marco Sturm said of the Hurricanes. “They’re a very aggressive team. They play one way. They play an aggressive way, especially in the first period. Our first periods, sometimes in the afternoon games, were not the best, so we better get ready right away against a good hockey team.”
Marat Khusnutdinov scored the overtime, game-winning goal for the B’s on Thursday, which was his first goal of the season. Khusnutdinov is now centering the first line between David Pastrnak and Morgan Geekie in the absence of Elias Lindholm, who suffered a lower-body injury against the Sabres. Sturm said Lindholm is getting an MRI and will be out “a few weeks.”
“I always say, just play your game. There’s a reason you got promoted to this line. Your game got you here. So just play your game. I will adjust to you, you don’t have to adjust to me,” Pastrnak said of Khusnutdinov. “He’s an awesome guy, great kid in the room, and everybody loves him. He brings such positive energy every single day. We couldn’t be happier for a guy like him.”
