Bruins Game Day Notes: Khudobin starts, Acciari remains sidelined

The Boston Bruins begin the unofficial start of the second half of the season with an 18-game point streak when they host the Anaheim Ducks at 7 p.m. at TD Garden. The Bruins are 29-10-8 (66 points in 47 games), while the Ducks are 24-17-9 (57 points in 50 games).



Masked man: Anton Khudobin gets the nod against the Ducks. Overall, he's 10-2-4 with a 2.38 goals-against average and a .924 save percentage. He's 3-0-2 in his last five starts. He has a 0-1-1 record with a 4.55 GAA and a .845 SP in two career games against Anaheim. Coach Bruce Cassidy said that Tuukka Rask, who's riding a career-best 18-game personal point streak, will start on Thursday against the St. Louis Blues and again on Saturday against the Toronto Maple Leafs. It helps keeping Khudobin fresh because the Bruins have four games next week, including a pair of back-t0-backs.

“Keep him playing, keep him fresh because he’s earned it,” Cassidy said.

Back again: As expected, rookie forward Anders Bjork returned to Boston after spending the weekend with the P-Bruins during the NHL All-Star break. He was recalled last week to replace Brad Marchand, who is serving a five-game suspension, before Bjork was reassigned to Providence. He was back at Bruins practice on Monday and will be in the lineup again tonight. He'll remain on a line with Riley Nash and David Backes. Bjork started the last game before the break on a line with Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak, but at the start of the second period was flip-flopped with Danton Heinen.

“I thought his game was good,” Cassidy said of Bjork's game against the Senators. “He was on pucks, drew a penalty that led to a power-play goal and he had some good second efforts. For him, it’s just a matter of body position, using his speed at the right time and managing puck and he’s learning that stuff.”

Sidelined: Noel Acciari continues to deal with a lower-body injury and will miss his second consecutive game. He did not practice on Monday and will not be in the lineup on Tuesday against the Ducks, according to Cassidy. Frank Vatrano will remain in the lineup and play with Sean Kuraly and Tim Schaller. Vatrano was in the box twice against the Senators, so Cassidy shortened his bench in the third period and the forward saw limited ice time.

“Frank was fine,” Cassidy said. “He got himself in some penalty trouble, so we made the decision there (to sit him). He’s worked hard to get back in the lineup and hopefully he can find a way to complement those types of players. Over the years, he’s been used to play with more skilled guys, but (bottom six) is what’s available now and he’ll have to embrace it.”

Acciari is considered day-to-day, according to Cassidy.

Special teams: Without Acciari and Marchand in the lineup, Cassidy has been using Schaller and Bergeron as a forward pair on the penalty kill, while also using Nash and Kuraly on the second unit. If needed, Cassidy can use David Krejci and Backes if needed. In an absolute pinch, Jake DeBrusk killed penalties in Providence last season and can handle the role.

Here are the Bruins’ projected line combinations and defensive pairings vs. Ducks. 

Forwards

Heinen-Bergeron-Pastrnak
DeBrusk-Krejci-Spooner
Bjork-Nash-Backes
Schaller-Kuraly-Vatrano

Defense

Chara-Carlo
Krug-McQuaid
Grzelcyk-Miller

Goalies
Khudobin

Rask