Need to Know: Bruins vs. Stars

BOSTON – The Bruins’ lengthy – and disappointing – seven-game homestand will finally come to an end on Monday afternoon with a matinee matchup against the Dallas Stars at TD Garden. Boston will be aiming to snap a four-game losing skid and finish the two-week stint on home ice with a 2-3-2 record.

“We're still in a great spot,” Bruins captain Brad Marchand said following Sunday’s practice at Warrior Ice Arena. “Obviously, the homestand hasn't gone the way we would have liked it to, but it's not the end of the world. You can't change what's happened…we're competing hard every game. We give ourselves an opportunity to win and know we can clean up in a couple of areas.

“Right now, everybody's playing great hockey and there's so much parity in the league, you never get an easy night, so you're not going to roll through every team. We know that everyone is competing hard…it's the game of inches.

“We're not overthinking it…we've got to be better a little bit in a couple of areas, but we'll be fine.”

Coach Jim Montgomery believes his team has played much more to its identity over the past three games, all of which could have resulted in victories.

“I talked to [the team] about how we're playing, I talked to them about what I like, what we would like to be better at, and also to stick together,” said Montgomery. “That's why I talk about the outside noise… the sky is not falling. It's not. We believe in a process that if we get five percent better, we win our last three games.

“The Calgary game and the Washington game, that bothers me to the core. But when I see my team building, and I see the group building the right way, it gives me confidence. So, it's easy for me to be confident around the team.”

As the Bruins welcome one of the league’s best teams to Causeway Street on Monday afternoon to close out the homestand, they’re also on the verge of a difficult road trip that begins in Edmonton on Wednesday night and includes stops in Calgary, Vancouver, and Seattle.

“We have Dallas coming in, one of the elite teams in the league, then we're going to Edmonton…best record in the league since December 1,” said Montgomery. “And then we're on the road for four in six nights. But if you get caught up with that, you start worrying. That's why we try to immerse ourselves in the moment…and we just focus on [Monday].”

Celebrating 63

Before Monday’s game against the Stars, the Bruins will celebrate Marchand for hitting the 1,000-game milestone earlier this homestand. The winger is the eighth player in team history to accomplish the feat.

“It’s special. I have a lot of friends and family in town and a lot of people that have had a huge impact on my career and that were the foundation of kind of building my game from an early child until now and people that supported me along the way,” said Marchand. “It will be really nice to celebrate with all of them and, obviously, my family and kids will be there and that’s something we will remember forever so it will be a lot of fun.”

Marchand said that while his main focus will certainly be on helping the Bruins snap their four-game skid, he is using the occasion to reflect on his incredible career thus far.

“It is very special to hit this point,” said Marchand. “And it's not something I think any of us ever thought would kind of happen in my career. And it's something I think we're all proud of as a family…so we all kind of enjoy all of that. But the fun part, as well, is playing the game, and the competitive part just comes out.

“Once the ceremony is over with, it’s time to play and I'll be looking forward to doing that. But yeah, just trying to take it all in…obviously when you're winning, everyone's in a good mood and just kind of adds to the moment, to the day.

“It'd be nice, but, you know, we'll have to take care of the process.”

Opposing View

The Stars enter Monday’s matinee coming off a 4-3 overtime loss to Edmonton that snapped a three-game winning streak. Dallas leads the Central Division with 34-14-7 record and 75 points, the latter of which is tied with the Bruins for third-most in the NHL.

Matt Duchene (22 goals, 33 assists) and Jason Robertson (18 goals, 37 assists) are tied for the team lead with 55 points, while Roope Hintz paces the club with 23 goals. Joe Pavelski (19-27—46), Mason Marchment (18-28—46), and Tyler Seguin (20-25—45) have also hit the 40-point mark as Dallas boasts the league’s top offense with 3.75 goals per game.

Goalie Jake Oettinger has a 20-9-3 record with a 2.93 goals against average and .904 save percentage.

Wait, There’s More

• Jakub Lauko missed Sunday’s practice with an upper-body injury. His status for Monday’s game is unknown. “We’ll know more [Monday] morning,” said Montgomery.
• Montgomery on Derek Forbort’s play: “I see a guy trying to come back and getting in the rhythm of the game. I think he's had some real good games, and I think he's had some games he would like to make a few corrections on…but he's someone that we believe in, and someone that’s going to help us in the long term as he always has.”
• Montgomery on moving Marchand to the net-front on the power play: “I think it's tinkering and getting different looks. That's why we switched [James van Riemsdyk] and [Morgan Geekie], because I think when Geekie was down with that group, it was the highest power-play percentage we had for a month. But there's a reason why we went away from it, and there's a reason why we're going back to it. We're tinkering, we're looking at different looks.”

Sunday’s Practice Lineup

FORWARDS

Brad Marchand – Charlie Coyle – Danton Heinen

Jake DeBrusk – Pavel Zacha ­– David Pastrnak

James van Riemsdyk – Morgan Geekie – Trent Frederic

Anthony Richard – Jesper Boqvist – Oskar Steen

DEFENSEMEN

Matt Grzelcyk – Charlie McAvoy

Hampus Lindholm – Brandon Carlo

Derek Forbort – Kevin Shattenkirk/Parker Wotherspoon

GOALIES

Jeremy Swayman

Linus Ullmark