BOSTON – The Bruins will be in search of their third straight win under interim head coach Joe Sacco when they host the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday night at TD Garden. The tilt will begin Boston’s second set of back-to-backs this season as the club will travel to Long Island for a matchup against the Islanders on Wednesday night.
Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the 7 p.m. ET puck drop on NESN and 98.5 The Sports Hub:
McLaughlin to Debut
After being recalled from Providence over the weekend, Marc McLaughlin will make his season debut for the Bruins, playing on the right wing alongside Trent Frederic and Charlie Coyle on Boston’s third line.
“He’s got to fulfill that third line role tonight with Charlie and Freddy,” said Sacco. “He’s got to be hard to play against, get in on the forecheck, disrupt the defensemen, make sure that he’s responsible defensively and when opportunities come, he’s got a great shot. I want to see the release, I want to see it go on net. We’ve talked already about trying to be more shot-focused as a group. He certainly can do that with his shot.”
With McLaughlin in the lineup, Tyler Johnson will be the healthy scratch up front.
“It’s the role that [Johnson’s] in right now,” said Johnson. “He’s gonna come in and out of the lineup at certain points. For us, it’s an opportunity tonight to look at Marc more so than anything…he deserves an opportunity. He’s played really well down [in Providence]. Watching him in practice since he’s been called up, you can see that he’s executing at a high level right now which is really nice to see. Hopefully some of that can carry over into our lineup tonight.”
McLaughlin played 11 games with Boston in 2021-22 (scoring three goals) but just three over the past two seasons (two in 2022-23 and one in 2023-24). The Billerica, Mass., native had been riding a five-game goal streak in Providence.
“I think my game has come a long way in the past year. I think I’m playing the right way, playing with detail. I’m just more confident, more experienced. I’m excited to see how it translates here,” said McLaughlin.
“I really value playing both sides of the puck, offense and defense. I think that has really come along for me. I’m seeing the puck go in a little bit more, seeing that offensive side come out. And I’ve been really solid defensively.”
Opposing View
Former Bruins Jake DeBrusk and Danton Heinen will make their returns to Causeway Street on Tuesday night with the Canucks. DeBrusk has 13 points (five goals, eight assists) in 19 games this season, while Heinen has posted 10 points (three goals, seven assists) in 19 games.
Fellow ex-Bruin Derek Forbort has been out injured since Nov. 2 and is not on the trip. The blue liner has skated in just four games this season.
The Canucks are 10-6-3 with 23 points, placing them fifth in the Pacific Division. Vancouver is in the midst of a six-game Eastern road trip, which began with a win on Saturday night in Ottawa.
Quinn Hughes paces Vancouver with 19 points (four goals, 15 assist) in 19 games, while J.T. Miller, Elias Pettersson, Kiefer Sherwood, Pius Suter and Brock Boeser are all tied for the team lead with six goals apiece. Miller is currently away from the team for personal reasons.
With star goalie Thatcher Demko sidelined by injury, Kevin Lankinen has taken the reins between the pipes, posting a 9-3-2 record with a 2.74 goals against average and .901 save percentage.
Wait, There’s More
Jeremy Swayman will get the start in goal for Boston against the Canucks, with Sacco saying it’s possible that Joonas Korpisalo will get the second end of the back-to-back on Wednesday night on Long Island. “Swayman tonight and then we’ll just see, we’ll take it day by day after that,” said Sacco. “Typically, [we’d split]. We’ll see how the game goes tonight and then we’ll discuss the goaltending situation for [Wednesday]. That’s more than likely what we’ve done in the past.”
Brad Marchand is expected to play in his 1,052nd career game on Tuesday night, which will tie him with Don Sweeney for the fourth-most games played in Bruins history.
Tuesday’s Projected Lineup
FORWARDS
Brad Marchand – Elias Lindholm – Justin Brazeau
Morgan Geekie – Pavel Zacha – David Pastrnak
Trent Frederic – Charlie Coyle – Marc McLaughlin
Johnny Beecher – Mark Kastelic – Cole Koepke
DEFENSEMEN
Mason Lohrei – Charlie McAvoy
Parker Wotherspoon – Brandon Carlo
Nikita Zadorov – Andrew Peeke
GOALIES
Jeremy Swayman
Joonas Korpisalo
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