The storm-force Carolina Hurricanes (7-3-0) blow into town Saturday for a 1 p.m. matinee with the recovering Bruins, winners of two straight, and Marco Sturm is prepared for the headwinds his club is likely to face.

When his Black and Gold charges report to Causeway Street in the morning, Sturm has a plan to ward against the dreaded sleepy-eye syndrome that often has been a Bruins lament for afternoon starts.

“I can tell you,” said a smiling Sturm following Friday’s workout in Brighton, “off my pre-scout about tomorrow — I think my first two clips will wake ‘em up. So, they’d better be ready because it’s probably the hottest team [in the league] right from the start. These guys finish a lot of teams in the first 10 minutes. So, we’d better be ready.”

Asked to share more specifics about Carolina’s tactics, Sturm leaned in on those effective, oft-disarming forecheck-driven starts, “Everything. They have that identity. If you’re not ready to match their compete level, you’re in trouble.”

Sturm, his club improving to 6-7-0 with Thursday’s overtime win over the Sabres, revealed that No. 1 center Elias Lindholm will be sidelined “for a few weeks” in the wake of his collision with Buffalo’s Jordan Greenway at 7:20 of the second period.

Per Sturm, Lindholm had an MRI scheduled for later Friday (results not released to the media) and spare forward Johnny Beecher will fill his roster spot against the Hurricanes. Beecher worked as the No. 4 left wing in practice, riding with Sean Kuraly and Mark Kastelic.

“Beech will be in, yes,” confirmed Sturm, “and no call-ups as of right now.”

Marat Khusnutdinov, who drilled home the 4-3 winner Thursday off a Fraser Minten feed, will move into Lindholm’s role, which on Friday saw the speedy, shifty Russian centering top goal scorers Morgan Geekie and David Pastrnak.

Sturm said that he otherwise will not alter his lineup Saturday in the wake of the club winning two in a row and three of the last four. All of which means defenseman Mason Lohrei again won’t be in the mix, and rookie Jonathan Aspirot, 26, will suit up back there for a third straight game.

Khusnutdinov has rocketed up the order since being scratched from the lineup last Saturday against the Avalanche. Quick and eager to drill in deep on the forecheck, he skated as the No. 1 left wing against the Sabres, with Lindholm and Pastrnak, and later moved to center when Lindholm was felled.

“He’s been fun to play with,” said Pastrnak of Khusnutdinov. “He’s very strong on the puck for his size and he’s unbelievable on the forecheck. Hopefully, we can build more and more chemistry.”

Khusnutdinov, whose goal during the three-on-three OT was his first of the season, made life running with the big dogs up front look easy. Sturm, a top-six forward in his prime playing years, noted that slipping into a high-profile scoring line isn’t always as easy as Khusnutdinov has made it look.

“It’s a hard job,” noted the coach. “Also, you’ve got to be the right fit for the right guy, the right linemates. I don’t think everyone fits a guy like Pasta. [Khusnutdinov] is that little energy guy, energy bunny, who is really crafty, has some speed, and also has that hockey IQ —something a guy like Pasta needs.”

Shooting for three

The Bruins last won three in a row to start this season, prior to their six-game losing skid. Last season, their longest win streak was four, Dec. 1-7, when they improved to 15-11-3. It was a steady decline from there, Joe Sacco’s stick carriers never winning more than two in a row and going 18-28-7 (a Williams-esque .406) the rest of the way … Sturm said he had yet to decide on his goalie against the Hurricanes. Joonas Korpisalo on Thursday became the first Bruins goalie this season to post wins in back-to-back starts. The club was desperate to find a foothold after losing 7 of 8 games, and the 31-year-old Finnish stopper has proven to be the guy. He turned back 70 of 75 shots (.933 save percentage) in the wins over the Islanders and Sabres … Ex-Bruins goalie prospect Brandon Bussi couldn’t move up the ladder to The Show in his three seasons in the minors. Now he’s partnered with the Hurricanes’ Frederik Andersen and has 3-1-0 record with 2.25 goals-against average and .916 save percentage.

Kevin Paul Dupont can be reached at kevin.dupont@globe.com.