Troiani Rink Report

The Boston Bruins knew they were going to be without top defenseman Charlie McAvoy as the club began its four-game road trip Wednesday against the Anaheim Ducks, and head coach Marco Sturm confirmed the blue liner would be sideline indefinitely after having surgery, per Boston Globe’s Jim McBride.

McAvoy left Saturday’s win over the Montreal Canadiens midway through the second period after taking a slap shot to the face from Habs defenseman Noah Dobson.

Boston is also without forwards Elias Lindholm (lower body), Viktor Arvidsson (lower body) and Casey Mittelstadt (lower body), and defenseman Jordan Harris (ankle surgery). Lindholm is the only player among the injured to travel with the team out West.

With McAvoy out of the lineup, Sturm shuffled his defense pairings for Boston’s matchup with Ducks.

Andrew Peeke will move down to the third pairing alongside Mason Lohrei and Henri Jokiharju moves up to play with Hampus Lindholm. Jonathan Aspirot will play in his second straight game and play top pair minutes with Nikita Zadorov.

The Bruins will close out their regular season series against the Ducks after losing to Anaheim, 7-5, in Boston in October.

Across the ice, the Ducks look to build on their Pacific Division after claiming the top spot on Monday after a 3-2 overtime win against the Utah Mammoth.

Puck drop from the Honda Center is scheduled for 10 p.m. ET on NESN and 98.5 The Sports Hub.

Here are the projected lines and defensive pairings for both clubs:

BOSTON BRUINS (12-9-0)
Morgan Geekie — Marat Khusnutdinov — David Pastrnak
Alex Steeves — Pavel Zacha — Matej Blumel
Tanner Jeannot — Fraser Minten — Mark Kastelic
Jeffrey Viel — Sean Kuraly — Michael Eyssimont

Nikita Zadorov — Jonathan Aspirot
Hampus Lindholm — Henri Jokiharju
Mason Lohrei — Andrew Peeke

Joonas Korpisalo

ANAHEIM DUCKS (12-6-1)
Chris Kreider — Leo Carlsson — Troy Terry
Cutter Gauthier — Mason McTavish — Beckett Sennecke
Frank Vatrano — Ryan Strome — Alex Killorn
Ross Johnston — Jansen Harkins — Nikita Nesterenko

Jackson LaCombe — Drew Helleson
Olen Zellweger — Jacob Trouba
Ian Moore — Radko Gudas

Lukas Dostal

ODDS AND ENDS
Special Teams
Power Play: Boston 25.4%, Anaheim 20.9%
Penalty Kill: Boston 82.5%, Anaheim 77.6%
Penalty Minutes: Boston 240, Anaheim 212

Offense and Defense
Goals Scored: Boston 68, Anaheim 69
Goals Allowed: Boston 69, Anaheim 60

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