Marco Sturm kept his Bruins lines intact at Friday's practice, one day after the 5-2 loss to Montreal.
The coach had every reason to stir the pot at TD Garden. Instead, the Bruins (13-5-1, third in the Atlantic) skated their forward lines and pairs as they were, with Saturday's game against a Wild team that is 8-0-2 over its last 10 waiting.
Jim McBride of the Boston Globe posted the Friday groupings, with Kuraly skating as the extra forward.
The Eyssimont, Minten and Geekie trio is the same one McBride showed at Wednesday's practice with Eyssimont next to Minten. Sturm did not tinker with it after a game in which all three finished a minus-2 or worse.
Belle Fraser's version of the session adds that Swayman and DiPietro both took part in goalie work. No starter has been named for Saturday.
Thursday's game gives that question some weight. DiPietro came on for the pulled Swayman and stopped 13 of 14 shots, but he was not credited with a decision.
The third line deserves a longer look. Casey Mittelstadt scored twice Thursday and carries a +12 rating into the weekend, yet he played 14:21 in a game Boston trailed for stretches. Sturm kept him with Elias Lindholm, who has a five-game point streak and two assists on Thursday.
Is Pavel Zacha's spot with Pastrnak safe?
For now, yes. Zacha stays between John-Jason Peterka and David Pastrnak after RDS reported a gap had opened between the center and the club, and the coach's practice call says the line is not being used to send a message.
Zacha logged 18:00 against Montreal and put three shots on goal, so the usage did not drop. Pastrnak's line as a whole went without a point and combined for a -3 night each from the two wingers.
That is not a case for breaking the line up. It is a case for patience, and Sturm is giving it, which is the right read after one bad night from a group that has 24 points from Pastrnak alone.
Minnesota will test that patience. The Wild beat Toronto 5-2 Thursday behind a Matthew Boldy hat trick, and they come to Boston on a two-game winning streak.
The Bruins have a few more hours of preparation, and the goalie decision is still open.
This article was written with the help of artificial intelligence, based on public reports and official sources.
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