Need to Know: Bruins vs. Sabres

BOSTON - The Bruins will wrap up their season series against the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday afternoon with a matinee at TD Garden. Jeremy Swayman will make the start between the pipes. Here's everything else you need to know ahead of the 1 p.m. puck drop on NESN and 98.5 The Sports Hub:

Reilly, Wagner Miss Practice

The Bruins were without several players for Friday's practice at Warrior Ice Arena. Mike Reilly missed the session to tend to a nagging injury, but Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said that he "suspects" the defenseman will be in the lineup on Saturday afternoon.
Chris Wagner also stayed off the ice and will "probably not" play on Saturday, per Cassidy.
Kevan Miller did not practice, which has become standard procedure the day after a game as he continues to manage the workload on his knee.

Carlo Getting Closer

Brandon Carlo has played just two games since March 5. But despite injuries keeping him out of the lineup for most of the stretch run, the defenseman has decided to take a more positive outlook on his absence.
"Right now, I'm feeling very good," said Carlo, who has practiced each of the last two days as he gears up for a return from an oblique injury suffered on April 1. "Obviously, it's been a process with some injuries for the last little bit here, but we have great guys around the room that have helped me gain perspective on how blessed we truly are.
"Just been living day to day, working as hard as I can to get back and appreciating the situation that I'm in. It's a blessing to be here and play games in the NHL, something you definitely don't want to take for granted.
"Just as I got back, I was very excited and then I'm out again with this oblique injury. That was disappointing but, overall, my moral is good."
Carlo missed three-plus weeks with a concussion following a high hit from Washington's Tom Wilson - who was suspended seven games - on March 5, before going back on the shelf after just a game-plus for another month. It's a break that he believes might have actually benefitted him.
"I've done a good job being honest with all the concussion stuff," Carlo said when asked if the extra time off may have actually helped him. "I felt very good moving forward and even when I was going to return, in a good position. But I will say that the extra days are some reassurance to make sure you're stable and ready to go with all the head stuff."
Carlo was a full participant in Friday's practice and skated alongside Matt Grzelcyk for much of the session. Despite that, however, Cassidy said the blue liner's timeline for a return has not changed, with the club targeting early next week in New Jersey.
"Which game, I don't know," said Cassidy. "My guess is the trainers will not want to play him in back-to-backs to start. That seems to be the way…guys coming off injuries, not to rush them back, give them a day to heal.
"I don't know if he'll play the front end or the back end, that might depend on how our health is going into Jersey. But that's the goal right now."

Crafting a Defense

When Carlo does return, Cassidy will have some decisions to make when it comes to finding the right pairings. Should the defense corps remain healthy between now and then - which is no guarantee given the bevy of injuries on the back end this season - the B's bench boss will have the luxury of operating with a full complement of blue liners for, pretty much, the first time this season.
"[Carlo will] go with Grizz or Reilly, probably, in the long run," said Cassidy. "We could get back to the three pairs that have a defender and a puck mover, so to speak. [Jeremy] Lauzon and [Charlie] McAvoy, they started out well together there. Could be Grizz and Carlo, could be Grizz and Miller - Grizz broke into the league [with] Miller - and then it would be Reilly and Carlo or Miller, right?
"If those are our top-six, we feel if we do it that way, we have a natural puck-mover in each group and more of a defender. If Grizz stays with McAvoy, then it's Reilly and Carlo [or] Reilly and Miller. We're comfortable with both because, really, Reilly wouldn't have had a long partnership with either one.
Cassidy noted that the pairings could be determined based on matchups, especially when it comes to the postseason.
"It's more or less, 'Let's get up to speed and see where it goes,'" said Cassidy. "Then who does Lauzy best fit with? There's a little bit of that that goes into it. Sometimes that just happens organically and sometimes it's matchup-oriented as it gets closer to the playoffs.
"You could see any number of pairs right through the end of the year, and then once we get into playoffs, we'll see what's the best fit."

Finding What's Right

Charlie Coyle broke through with his first goal in 28 games on Thursday night, as he notched the winner in the third period with a strong individual effort. For the past two-plus games, Coyle has shifted from center to wing in the hopes that it could spark his offensive game. Whether or not Coyle remains on right side long-term is still be determined.
"We're a little bit [light] on right shots on the right side. We have more left shots, right?" said Cassidy. "It's a little out of necessity this time of year. We've talked to Charlie about that. We hadn't had much success finishing, so sometimes moving to the wing, especially for a guy who's played there, is not a bad thing.
"He was amenable to it, so it worked out well for us. That way we keep [Sean] Kuraly in the middle, who's another left stick when [Curtis] Lazar got here that we moved to left wing. So, there's a bit of a log jam of sticks on the left side and less so on the right.
"Where it goes from here down the road, I don't know yet. Let's see how it plays out with Kuraly in the middle. I thought they'd done a good job the last few games, had the puck a lot. See if they can finish and still be a heavy line to play against, a hard line to play against. We'll go from there."

Friday's Practice Lineup

FORWARDS
Brad Marchand - Patrice Bergeron - David Pastrnak
Taylor Hall - David Krejci - Craig Smith
Nick Ritchie - Sean Kuraly - Charlie Coyle
Jake DeBrusk/Trent Frederic - Curtis Lazar - Karson Kuhlman
DEFENSEMEN
Jeremy Lauzon - Charlie McAvoy
Matt Grzelcyk - Brandon Carlo
Jarred Tinordi - Connor Clifton
Jakub Zboril - Steven Kampfer
GOALIES
Tuukka Rask
Jaroslav Halak
Jeremy Swayman