Pastrnak took off his "no contact" jersey for Monday's practice and could make his season debut later this week. Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy said that he will not play Tuesday or Thursday vs. the Penguins but may play Saturday in Washington. Cassidy said that Pastrnak will immediately return to the top line with Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand.
Jones is expected to make his season debut on Friday after replacing Sonny Milano (undisclosed) on the roster. Jones had 12 points (8G / 4A) in 59 games a season ago.
Rask allowed one goal on 17 shots in the Bruins' 1-0 loss to the Islanders on Monday. The Bruins are trying to limit Rask's workload a bit, so Rask will start tonight and Jaroslav Halak will start Saturday. Rask has been steady so far, stopping 36 of the 39 shots (.923 SV%) that he's faced in two games. Tonight he faces a Flyers team that is already battling plenty of injury concerns.
Korpisalo allowed two goals on 37 shots in the Blue Jackets' win in Detroit on Monday. Korpisalo and Elvis Merzlikins have alternated starts to begin the season but Korpisalo has been the better of the two thus far. Korpisalo has stopped 67 of 71 shots (.944 SV%) in his first two outings but draws a terrible matchup tonight vs. the Lightning.
Korpisalo allowed two goals on 34 shots in the Blue Jackets 3-1 loss in Nashville on opening night. Elvis Merzlikins allowed five goals in his season debut on Saturday, so they'll come back to Korpisalo as the Blue Jackets search for their first win of the season today in Detroit. Korpisalo was 2-0-0 with a 3.55 HAA and .851 SV% in two games vs. the Red Wings last season.
Rask allowed two goals on 22 shots in the Bruins shootout win in New Jersey on opening night. Rask wasn't tested often but he made a number of huge saves, especially in overtime and earned his first win of the season. Jaroslav Halak started Saturday but they'll come back to Rask tonight vs. the Islanders. Rask was 2-0-1 with a 1.29 GAA and .952 SV% in three games against the Islanders last season.
With Jordan Staal out because of COVID-19 protocol, Geekie will draw into the lineup on Saturday. It’s unclear how the Hurricanes’ lines will shake out but Vincent Trocheck figures to move up to the second line with Geekie handling a bottom-6 role.
Johnson had to sit out the Lighting's season opener due to salary cap reasons but will play Friday vs. the Blackhawks. Johnson will reclaim his spot on the second line with Anthony Cirelli and Alex Killorn, pushing Mathieu Jospeh to the fourth line and making Alexander Volkov a scratch.
Korpisalo is expected to split time in the Blue Jackets crease with Elvis Merzlikins this season but they will go with the more veteran of the two on opening night. Korpisalo was solid in the 2020 regular season, posting a 2.60 GAA and .911 SV% in 37 games but took his game to a new level in the postseason. In nine playoff starts, he posted a playoff-best .941 SV%. He makes for a decent option in his first start of the season vs. a Nashville team that was in the middle of the pack in goal-scoring and below-average on the PP last year.
There was initial concern that Marchand may miss the start of the regular season but he participated throughout training camp and head coach Bruce Cassidy expects him to be available on Thursday. With David Pastrnak out for the start of the year, Marchand will need to get off to a hot start for the Bruins to have success.
Bruins' head coach Bruce Cassidy named Rask as his game one starter and said that Rask is expected to start roughly 35 of the 56 games. The 33-year-old netminder was 26-8-6 while leading the NHL with a 2.12 GAA and .929 SV% (2nd). In two starts vs. the Devils, Rask went 2-0-0 while allowing just one goal on 57 shots (.982 SV%).
Pastrnak was originally expected to miss the first month of the season, roughly 15 games, but head coach Bruce Cassidy provided some positive information on Tuesday. Pastrnak is one of the most polarizing players in fantasy drafts this season but this update provides optimism that could push his ADP into the second round.
As expected, Pastrnak will not be ready for the start of training camp and will miss at least the first few games of the regular season. Pastrnak's original timetable was mid-February, so it looks like that remains true as training camp gets set to begin this week.
Marchand underwent sports hernia surgery in mid-September and was expected to be sidelined until mid-January. On Thursday, the Bruins announced that Marchand has been skating regularly, will be there for the start of training camp and should be good to go for the start of the regular season.
