Bruins' Brandon Carlo out vs. Coyotes with ‘a family matter'

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Mar 25, 2019; Tampa, FL, USA; Boston Bruins defenseman Brandon Carlo (25) celebrates as he scores a goal during the second period at Amalie Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

BRIGHTON, Mass. — The Bruins will be without arguably their best all-around defenseman this season as Brandon Carlo is out for Saturday afternoon’s game vs. the Arizona Coyotes with a personal issue.

Carlo is headed to Colorado for “a family matter”, per B’s head coach Bruce Cassidy, and is expected to meet the team in Detroit for Sunday afternoon’s matinee against the Red Wings.

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“He’s got a personal day for family matters. [Carlo] went home and he won’t play [against the Coyotes],” said Cassidy. “We expect him back for Sunday. It’s the easiest switch [to insert John Moore for Carlo]. We love the way [Matt Grzelcyk] has played with [Jeremy] Lauzon and obviously Charlie [McAvoy] and Zee will stay together. It’s the easiest thing to do. If it’s not working out, then we’ll have to make some adjustments on the fly.”

The 23-year-old Carlo has four goals and 17 points in 55 games with a plus-17 rating while averaging 20:37 of ice time in a pivotal shutdown role for the Bruins, and this will be the first game that he’s missed this season. With Carlo out, Moore will enter back into the lineup for the Bruins and skate with Torey Krug on the second pairing after serving as a healthy scratch for the last five games following a rough performance in Pittsburgh where the Bruins blew a three-goal lead against the Penguins.

Otherwise, Joakim Nordstrom remains out with a condition caused by an allergy issue and Connor Clifton skated with a no-contact jersey for the first time while earmarked for a mid-February return to the lineup. Tuukka Rask is slated to get the start against the Coyotes on Saturday and that makes Jaroslav Halak in line to get the nod against the Red Wings in Detroit on Sunday.

Here are the projected Bruins line combos and D-pairings against the Coyotes based on Friday’s practice at Warrior Ice Arena:

PROJECTED LINES

Brad Marchand Patrice Bergeron David Pastrnak
Jake DeBrusk David Krejci Karson Kuhlman
Sean Kuraly Charlie Coyle Anders Bjork
Anton Blidh Par Lindholm Chris Wagner

DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS 

Zdeno Chara Charlie McAvoy
Torey Krug John Moore
Matt Grzelcyk Jeremy Lauzon

STARTING GOALIE

Tuukka Rask
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