Bruins Will Be Shorthanded in New Jersey

BOSTON – Both Pavel Zacha and Charlie McAvoy missed their second consecutive practices on Tuesday, though McAvoy once again skated ahead of the full session at Warrior Ice Arena. Neither, however, will be available on Wednesday night when the Bruins visit the New Jersey Devils in Newark.

“They're not going to be available,” said coach Jim Montgomery. “They're not game ready for [Wednesday]. We'll see after that, day by day again, continuing on.”

With two integral pieces out of the lineup, the Bruins will be focusing on a team approach to fill the void.

“By everybody contributing, everybody digging in,” said Montgomery. “You don't replace one of your top two centers and you don't replace your top D man with an individual. It’s got to be concerted effort by everybody to eat more minutes, and they’ve got to do the job.”

Geekie In the Middle

Morgan Geekie skated between Jake DeBrusk and David Pastrnak – as he did at times after Zacha’s injury on Saturday afternoon against Arizona – during Tuesday’s practice and is looking forward to the chance to be between them against the Devils.

"It's awesome. Anytime you get to play with players of their caliber, it's something special,” said Geekie. “Just trying to go out there and get them the puck in the right spots. We all know what [Pastrnak] can do with it. Just try to get open, create space for him, and create some plays.”

Montgomery praised Geekie’s ability to battle as one of his most intriguing attributes when playing with highly skilled offensive threats like DeBrusk and Pastrnak.

“Well, he's a big horse that can occupy middle of the ice, drive the net,” said Montgomery. “He wins battles, not only 1-on-1 battles, but he wins battles against two people because of his strength and his tenacity on pucks. Now, it worked in-game [against Arizona]. It's much easier for guys to do it in-game, than when they have two days to prepare.

“All of a sudden you're starting, and you’ve got to start on time like you played in that previous game. It's a challenge for everyone. It's a wonderful opportunity that everybody has kind of been given. But you’ve got to seize the opportunity, and that's what we're looking for.

“We're looking for people to seize the opportunities that are presented for them.”

Boqvist Recalled

Down a forward, the Bruins recalled Jesper Boqvist from Providence on Tuesday morning. The 25-year-old, who has suited up for one game with Boston this season, has 14 points (5 goals, 9 assists) in 24 games for the P-Bruins.

“There's a lot of players that are playing well right now in Providence,” said Montgomery. “A little bit is how well he's playing, and also it's New Jersey, and that’s where he played [to start his career]. I always find that guys dig in and want to show the other team why they could have kept them.

“He's very versatile. He can play anywhere, so that's another reason.”

Montgomery said he has not determined yet whether Boqvist – who rotated through the B’s fourth line with Jakub Lauko, Johnny Beecher, and Oskar Steen during practice – will be in the lineup on Wednesday.

“He had a good practice today, but I'm undecided on that,” said Montgomery. “Will need to talk to the staff.”

Wait, There’s More

• Montgomery did not name a starting goaltender for Wednesday’s game against New Jersey, though he did acknowledge he has already made a decision: “I do, I’m not sharing it with you,” he said with a chuckle. “They're both healthy.”
• New Jersey (14-11-1, 29 points) enters Wednesday coming off a 4-1 loss to Edmonton on Sunday that snapped a three-game winning streak. The Devils are two points back of the East’s second wild card spot. “Just the speed in transition,” Montgomery said of what stands out about the Devils. “We have to do everything a second quicker so that we have the numbers we want in the right areas, which is at our goal line for our forecheck, and for our breakouts, and also just getting above them. We haven't done a great job of staying above people consistently, giving up too many odd man rushes in here as it is. So, it's going to be a great test to see if our transition to defense, in particular, is where it needs to be.”

Tuesday’s Practice Lineup

FORWARDS

Brad Marchand – Charlie Coyle – Trent Frederic

Jake DeBrusk – Morgan Geekie – David Pastrnak

James van Riemsdyk – Matt Poitras – Danton Heinen

Jakub Lauko – Johnny Beecher – Oskar Steen/Jesper Boqvist

DEFENSEMEN

Hampus Lindholm – Ian Mitchell

Matt Grzelcyk – Brandon Carlo

Mason Lohrei – Kevin Shattenkirk

GOALIES

Jeremy Swayman

Linus Ullmark