Need to Know: Bruins vs. Red Wings

BOSTON – It’s on to the next century.

On the heels of the club’s Centennial celebrations over the weekend, the Bruins will be aiming for their fifth win in seven games under interim coach Joe Sacco when they host the Detroit Red Wings ono Tuesday night at TD Garden.

At morning skate, Joonas Korpisalo was the first goalie off the ice for Boston, which is kicking off a back-to-back with a trip to Chicago on tap for Wednesday.

“Good response from our team,” David Pastrnak said of the Bruins’ recent play. “It gives us results at the end of the day. But for us, the main focus is the details. [We've gotten] to be comfortable in uncomfortable situations in the games. Obviously, there might be way more games that are gonna be tight than in the past, we are gonna score less goals.”

Here's everything else you need to know ahead of the 7 p.m. ET puck drop on ESPN+ and 98.5 The Sports Hub:

At the Top

Jordan Oesterle is expected to play his second consecutive game with Charlie McAvoy on Boston’s top defense pairing. The veteran blue liner returned to the lineup on Sunday against Montreal after sitting out five consecutive games a healthy scratch, and meshed well with McAvoy, who potted two goals in Boston’s 6-3 win.

“He’s easy to play with, lots of communication,” said Oesterle. “This group’s easy to come in and join. I’m just trying to play my game and complement him as best as I can, give him the puck and let him do his thing. It’s obviously fun playing with a defenseman like that.”

Sacco said he was quite pleased with McAvoy’s game and indicated that Oesterle’s presence freed up the B’s top defenseman to be an offensive threat.

“Probably the best way to describe it is a steady influence,” Sacco said of Oesterle, who is in the midst of his 11^th NHL season. “I think that’s the best way to put it, he played a simple game, kept the game in front of him. He didn’t try to do too much or force too many plays. He was pretty steady defensively and that’s what we were looking for from Oesty, especially if you’re gonna play him with Charlie. It freed Charlie up to play his game a little more.”

Sacco also complimented McAvoy’s defensive performance against Montreal.

“I thought Charlie played a really solid game,” said Sacco. “His reads were good, he was joining the play at the right time. His rush reads were excellent in terms of defending the rush, keeping the game in front of him. They seemed to feed off each other that one game.”

Opposing View

• The Red Wings enter Tuesday’s game having dropped a 5-4 decision to Vancouver on Sunday night at home. Since losing, 2-1, to the Bruins on Nov. 23, Detroit is 2-1-1.
• Detroit placed winger Patrick Kane on injured reserve ono Tuesday morning, retroactive to Nov. 23.
• Per RedWings.com, goaltender Villie Husso will get the start in goal for Detroit, marking his first start since Nov. 9. He is 0-2-1 with a 4.90 goals against average and .818 save percentage this season.
• Lucas Raymond leads Detroit with 25 points (7 goals, 18 assists) in 24 games, while Dylan Larkin paces the club with 12 goals.

Wait, There’s More

• Marc McLaughlin will remain in the lineup for the second straight game, playing alongside Cole Koepke and Johnny Beecher on Boston’s fourth line. “I thought last game was just what we expect from Mark,” said Sacco. “It was a straight, up-and-down game. He managed his shifts well, he didn’t overextend them. He’s trying to play physical, he’s trying to fill that fourth-line role. He’s finishing his checks, moving his feet. He’s got to continue to get to the net…Marc has to continue to push the pace for those guys as well.”
• Mark Kastelic, meanwhile, will stick with Trent Frederic and Charlie Coyle as the right wing ono the third line. “He drags you into the battles more because of the way he plays,” said Sacco. “He’s just a physical player. He likes to get in, he’s got an abrasive style to his game. He gets in on the forecheck. He creates a lot of havoc below the goal line in the offensive zone. That just means we have to have our second forward get in there, help support him, come up with some loose pucks. Mark’s game’s not gonna change, whether he’s at center or wing. There’s just a little less responsibility defensively for him. His physical style, he brought a lot of energy to that line last game, which I thought helped.”
• David Pastrnak snapped a seven-game goal-less drought on Sunday with his ninth tally of the season, which also market his 750^th career point. “I know I haven’t been scoring much but there’s a lot of parts of my game that I wasn’t happy with,” said Pastrnak. “I didn’t even think about scoring, honestly. I feel good now and confidence is coming back so I’m pretty sure I’m gonna be better.”
• Pastrnak added that the Bruins’ power play, which remains last in the NHL (11.75), needs to be better in a number of areas. “We have to shoot more, we have to recover pucks. I feel like we are one and done,” he said. “That’s why we don’t get enough looks. We just need to bear down and win battles. That’s when the holes open up and you get the big opportunity. Kills are so good that if you’re just going into the set killing and don’t recover pucks then you don’t score goals.”

Tuesday’s Projected Lineup

FORWARDS

Brad Marchand – Elias Lindholm – Justin Brazeau

Morgan Geekie – Pavel Zacha – David Pastrnak

Trent Frederic – Charlie Coyle – Mark Kastelic

Cole Koepke – Johnny Beecher – Marc McLaughlin

DEFENSEMEN

Jordan Oesterle – Charlie McAvoy

Mason Lohrei – Brandon Carlo

Nikita Zadorov – Andrew Peeke

GOALIES

Joonas Korpisalo

Jeremy Swayman