Bruins lineup: Joakim Nordstrom sticking on 2nd line, Ryan Donato likely back vs. Red Wings

Here are your daily news and notes from the Bruins’ afternoon skate at Warrior Ice Arena Friday. The Black and Gold will face off against the Red Wings Saturday afternoon at TD Garden. Puck drop is set for 3 p.m.

Nordstrom remaining on second line:

After breaking the second line’s scoring drought during Thursday’s win over the Oilers, it appears that Joakim Nordstrom is sticking with David Krejci and Jake DeBrusk for the time being.

He may not project as a regular top-six contributor — after scoring two goals in 75 games last season with the Hurricanes — but Nordstrom’s speed and 200-foot game has been a strong compliment to the established forwards on that line, according to Bruce Cassidy.



“He’ll play there tomorrow,” Cassidy said of Nordstrom. “Going forward, it will sort itself out, is the way I look at it. I do believe we have lots of good players. Some of them are still searching for their game obviously, I believe they’ll find it. And then how they stack up after. We brought Nordy in, I’ll tell ya, we knew he could play down in the lineup, he played up a bit in Carolina. So could he toggle up and down? Yes.

“Is he long term there? We prefer the plan this summer, whether it was (Ryan) Donato, (Danton) Heinen, (Anders) Bjork in that mix, those skills guys. We’d like to see them grow into that spot. That could take a month, could take a year, could take a week. Right now, Nordy will stay there tomorrow. I think he adds a level of veteran responsibility to that line as well, so that helps.”

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Donato likely back in lineup

While Nordstrom will remain in a top-six role for now, Cassidy will likely make another tweak to the lineup ahead of Saturday’s matchup against the Detroit Red Wings, with Ryan Donato expected to return to the ice after sitting out of Thursday’s win against Edmonton.

Donato earned reps on the third line during Friday’s practice, switching in and out at times with fellow winger Danton Heinen. The Harvard prospect also saw time on the B’s second power-play unit with Jake DeBrusk, David Backes, Charlie McAvoy and Krejci.

Cassidy has mentioned that a 13th forward has still not been decided on with this roster, paving the way for more young players to cycle in and out of watching games from press level.

“He’ll probably come in,” Cassidy said of Donato. “We’re trying not to keep young guys out for an extended period of time. It will happen. … I assume he’ll go in tomorrow. We worked him into the second power-play group today and that’s what we’re kind of looking at.”

With Donato likely back on Saturday, it appears like Heinen might be the odd man out after shifting in and out of drills with the third line during practice. Like the rest of the forward trio, Heinen has struggled to get going to start the season, firing just two shots on goal while failing to register a point.

Along with struggling to generate offense, Heinen has also taken a penalty in three straight games — an alarming trend for Cassidy after the winger only logged 16 penalty minutes over 77 games last season.

“He’s fighting it. And another penalty last night,” Cassidy said of Heinen. “That’s something with Danton in general —  when he’s had tough stretches last year, he’s very reliable and you can count on him to bring his B game and be a good defensive player. Right now, he’s taking a lot of stick fouls, in the preseason and now.

“So that’s the first thing we have to correct, is him starting to get in, getting under people instead of always over the top with one hand on the stick. … He’s a good player, we’ve got to get him back to playing well.”

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Rask back in net

Cassidy confirmed that Tuukka Rask will get the call in net for Saturday’s matchup against Detroit, with the B’s top netminder looking to follow up another strong performance from Jaroslav Halak in Thursday’s win against the Oilers.

While Cassidy will likely keep the goalie rotation in place for the first couple of weeks of the season, he did note that he was impressed with what Halak has brought this team (.961 save percentage).

“I’d say even better, to be honest with you,” Cassidy said of Halak living up to expectations. “We’d figure he’d be a good, solid goaltender, but every time he’s been in there, he’s been rock solid. I don’t think there’s been any cheap goals on him.”