BOSTON – The Boston Bruins (20-15-0) are on home ice tonight when they take on the Vancouver Canucks (14-17-3). This is the first matchup of the season between these two teams, with the second one happening right after the New Year. The Bruins dropped their contest on Thursday by a score of 3-1. Although the result was not what they were looking for, Marco Sturm praised the black and gold’s five-on-five game. Vancouver played yesterday, picked up two points against Long Island, and then traveled to Boston.

The Bruins have posted a 12-6-0 record when at home this season. However, they have faltered recently on killing penalties. Over the last five games, the Bruins’ penalty kill has only been successful 64.7% of the time. They have conceded six power play goals over the previous five games. It is also worth noting that the Bruins have allowed the first goal in each of their last five games. That does not mean the game is over, though; they are 9-11-0 on the season when allowing the first goal, and 3-2-0 over the previous five.

The Canucks traded Quinn Hughes to Minnesota last Friday. Now, they are on the fourth stop of a five-game road trip. They have been playing great hockey since the departure of their captain, and have won all three games since the trade. Keifer Sherwood picked up a hat trick last night, helping lead the Canucks to a 4-1 win.

Bruins Morning Skate Notes

Marco Sturm shuffled the line combinations at practice today. Marat Khusnutdinov and Morgan Geekie have swapped spots. Marco Sturm cited wanting to give Khusnutdinov a bigger jump. He will return to the first line, where he played while Elias Lindholm was injured. This time, instead of filling in for him, Khusnutdinov will play with Lindholm. Geekie will go on the right side of Casey Mittelstadt and Pavel Zacha.

Tanner Jeannot and Mark Kastelic will rejoin Fraser Minten on the third line. The three of them played together in November and into December, and their play was praised by Marco Sturm. Minten will also get a look on the second power play unit tonight, per Scott McLaughlin of WEEI. Mikey Eyssimont will slide down to the fourth line, and Jeffrey Viel is expected to slot into the lineup tonight. Viel will dress for his tenth game of the season, and he is looking to pick up his first point as a Bruin.

Viktor Arvidsson joined the Bruins on the ice for practice this morning, per Scott McLaughlin. He did not skate with the forward group; instead, he skated with Alex Steeves as an extra forward.

Jeremy Swayman will get his fourth consecutive start. He is 1-2-0 in this stretch, with ten goals allowed.

Expected Bruins Lines
Forwards

Marat Khusnutdinov – Elias Lindholm – David Pastrnak

Casey Mittelstadt – Pavel Zacha – Morgan Geekie

Tanner Jeannot – Fraser Minten – Mark Kastelic

Jeffrey Viel – Sean Kuraly – Mikey Eyssimont

Defensemen

Nikita Zadorov – Charlie McAvoy

Hampus Lindholm – Andrew Peeke

Mason Lohrei – Victor Soderstrom

Source: Fluto Shinzawa, The Athletic

Starting Goalie

Jeremy Swayman (14-9-0, 2.76 GAA, .908 SV%)

Source: Scott McLaughlin, WEEI

Expected Canucks Lines
Forwards

Brock Boeser – Marco Rossi – Conor Garland

Nils Hoglander – David Kampf – Jake DeBrusk

Evander Kane – Drew O’Connor – Kiefer Sherwood

Liam Ohgren – Max Sasson – Linus Karlsson

Defensemen

Marcus Pettersson – Filip Hronek

Zeev Buium – Tyler Myers

Elias Pettersson – Tom Willander

Source: Vancouver Canucks* (last night’s lines)

Starting Goalie

Kevin Lankinen (4-10-3, 3.49 GAA, .878 SV%)

Source: Thomas Drance, The Athletic

Special Teams

The Bruins’ power play sits tied for fourth in the NHL (25.7%). Over the last five games, the Bruins’ power play has scored four times on 13 attempts. Their penalty kill has been tested often; the Bruins have been shorthanded a league-leading 129 times. Additionally, they have allowed six power play goals in their last five games. December 6 was the last game in which the Bruins did not allow a power-play goal.

On the other end, the Vancouver Canucks’ power play ranks 13th at 20.4%. Jake DeBrusk leads them with eight power play goals on the year. Their penalty kill has not been as strong. They rank 29th in that category at 74.3%, and have allowed 29 goals on 113 attempts this season.

Season Series

Saturday, December 20: Canucks @ Bruins

Saturday, January 3: Bruins @ Canucks

Upcoming Schedule

Sunday, December 21: Senators @ Bruins 

Tuesday, December 23: Canadiens @ Bruins

Saturday, December 27: Bruins @ Sabres

Monday, December 29: Bruins @ Flames  

Wednesday, December 31: Bruins @ Oilers

How to Watch

7:00 PM ET

TV: NESN, NHL Network

Radio: 98.5 The Sports Hub