Troiani Rink Report

---

The Boston Bruins need to win a hockey game.

Entering Thursday night’s tilt with the Anaheim Ducks, the Black and Gold have lost five consecutive games, and four of those came by just one goal.

The B’s have only been outscored by a margin of 26 to 24, but the Original Six franchise sits two games below .500 at 3-5-0 to begin the 2025-26 campaign — which can lead to frustration for the players and coaches, if it hasn’t already.

David Pastrnak, who needs one goal to surpass Ray Bourque (395) for sixth most goals in franchise history, leads the Bruins with 10 points (four goals and six assists) in eight games.

Looking to generate more offense, as well as tighten up defensively, first-year bench boss Marco Sturm shook up the bottom six forward group, as well as the defensive pairings. Jeffrey Viel and Mikey Eyssimont swapped spots on the third and fourth lines and Nikita Zadorov slid up to the second defensive pairing with Andrew Peeke.

Hampus Lindholm is expected to be a game-time decision. Still, according to WEEI’s Scott McLaughlin, the defender stayed on the ice after morning skate with the healthy scratches for Boston’s matchup with Anaheim. If Lindholm is unable to go, Michael Callahan is expected to make his season debut with Jordan Harris placed on injured reserve Wednesday. Callahan skated with Henri Jokiharju during morning skate.

Boston is in the middle of a three-game homestand that wraps up Saturday against the Colorado Avalanche.

Across the sheet, the Ducks are coming off a 5-2 win over the Predators in Nashville. Anaheim is led by Leo Carlsson, who has seven points in six games. The Ducks are fourth in the Pacific with a 3-2-1 record.

Puck drop from TD Garden is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET on NESN and 98.5 The Sports Hub.

Here are the projected lines and defensive pairings for both clubs

BOSTON BRUINS (3-5-0)
Morgan Geekie — Elias Lindholm — David Pastrnak
Casey Mittelstadt — Pavel Zacha — Viktor Arvidsson
Tanner Jeannot — Fraser Minten — Jeffrey Viel
Mikey Eyssimont — Sean Kuraly — Mark Kastelic

Mason Lohrei — Charlie McAvoy
Nikita Zadorov — Andrew Peeke
Michael Callahan — Henri Jokiharju

Joonas Korpisalo

ANAHEIM DUCKS (3-2-1)
Cutter Gauthier — Leo Carlsson — Alex Killorn
Frank Vatrano — Mason McTavish — Beckett Sennecke
Nikita Nesterenko — Mikael Granlund — Troy Terry
Ross Johnston — Ryan Poehling — Sam Colangelo

Jackson LaCombe – Drew Helleson
Olen Zellweger — Jacob Trouba
Pavel Mintyukov — Radko Gudas

Petr Mrazek

More Bruins: Bruins Recall Defender, Send Another To Injured Reserve