Need to Know: Bruins at Sharks

SAN JOSE, Calif. – After a five-day lull in the schedule, the Bruins will finally get back to action on Thursday night as they kick off a four-game road trip with a matchup against the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center.

“I mean, you try to compete hard in practice and try to keep that game pace up,” Bruins captain Brad Marchand said of the B’s recent break. “But you always feel better when you're playing more frequently and we're kind of getting to that schedule now. We usually start the season a little slower, a lot of days in between games. We're used to that at the start the year. This will be great trip for us.

“A couple of really good teams that we play and the more we play, the better we'll be able to build a foundation of our game and start building better habits and stuff like that. It's tough to string some really good games together when you're playing four or five days apart. We have that opportunity now and we're going to make the most of it.”

Here is everything you need to know ahead of the 10:30 p.m. ET puck drop on NESN and 98.5 The Sports Hub:

A New Look

Marchand will have a pair of new linemates to start the roadie as Matt Poitras and Morgan Geekie team up with the winger, who is aiming to build some chemistry with the duo over the course of the trip.

“Geeks is playing really well and Poitras is a really smart player,” said Marchand. “So, hopefully we can find that chemistry right away. We've had a couple good days of practice and seem to be finding each other well. So hopefully it translates to the game.

“I think we'll be able to make plays down low. Geeks is really good with the puck down low and possesses it well. The more we can kind of interchange and have movement, hopefully, and find some lanes and get some pucks to the net – all three guys are pretty good around the net there, so hopefully we can get pucks in there and can capitalize.”

Opposing View

The Sharks are still in search of their first win of the season, having gone 0-2-1 over their first three games, including a 6-3 setback against Carolina on Tuesday night. Tomas Hertl paces the Sharks with three points (all assists) in three games, while Filip Zadina has the early lead in goals with a pair.

“They’re really fast, they play really fast in transition,” Montgomery said of the Sharks. “You’ve got to be aware of that on our rush defense. And I think as good as they are going one way, the other way, they’re young. If we can hang onto pucks and make them defend, I think it’s gonna allow us to get quality scoring chances. But you’ve got to be willing to hang on to pucks. It’s something we did well in the second half of practice [on Wednesday].”

Wait, There’s More

• Linus Ullmark will make the start between the pipes for the Bruins.
• Montgomery was not pleased with the execution during the morning skate and was not particularly interested in blaming the cross-country travel. “Those are all excuses, right?,” said Montgomery. “We came out two days early so that we could get ready to give ourselves the best chance at success tonight. We’ve got to be ready to go tonight.”

Thursday’s Projected Lineup

FORWARDS

Brad Marchand – Matt Poitras – Morgan Geekie

Jake DeBrusk – Pavel Zacha – David Pastrnak

James van Riemsdyk – Charlie Coyle – Trent Frederic

Milan Lucic – Johnny Beecher – Jakub Lauko

DEFENSEMEN

Matt Grzelcyk – Charlie McAvoy

Hampus Lindholm – Brandon Carlo

Derek Forbort – Kevin Shattenkirk

GOALIES

Linus Ullmark

Jeremy Swayman