BRIGHTON, Mass – After a lackluster effort against the Maple Leafs in a loss earlier this week, Bruins rookie center Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson will be a healthy scratch through the weekend. JFK was a scratch in the Thursday night overtime win against the Islanders for the first time since being called up and he’ll be out of the lineup once again on Saturday night against the Detroit Red Wings.
Instead, Joakim Nordstrom will once again man the middle and the Bruins will go with the same lineup that played fairly well against the Islanders. The B’s will hope that watching for a couple of games will up JFK’s compete level. Bruce Cassidy flatly said “I didn’t like his compete” when asked about JFK after the loss to Toronto where he was dropped from centering the top line between Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak.
- MORE BRUINS - Pastrnak left off NHL All-Star ballot
It’s expected JFK is going to get back into the lineup next week and the Bruins will be looking for the same kind of competitiveness that allowed him to score a couple of goals when he was first called up. He’s got the two goals in nine games, but is also a minus-2 with just three shots on goal where the B’s are hoping to see more proactive play out of the young guy.
“We’re going to stay with the same forward group,” said Cassidy, referring to the win over the Isles. “He’s our extra forward right now. I think for one weekend we’re comfortable in case [something happens]. We wouldn’t wait forever though [if he was a scratch]. One weekend missing games and being down there with our group, if he’s watching then maybe the next time he goes in you hope it will be a motivating factor for a young guy. But we’ll see.”
It’s certainly part of the process for the talented yForsbacka Karlsson, 22, and particularly for him as the Bruins have consistently tried to eliminate the passivity from his game while accepting the inevitable learning curve. That goes without saying when he’s being entrusted with a top-six role with Patrice Bergeron out of the lineup, but is a focus regardless of where he’s playing when he gets back in.
In addition to JFK being a healthy scratch, veteran D-man Steve Kampfer will also be a healthy scratch for the Bruins with Brandon Carlo entering back into the lineup after a nine-game absence due to an upper-body injury.
Here are the projected Bruins line combos and D-pairings for Saturday night vs. the Red Wings at TD Garden:
Boston Bruins
Marchand–Cave–Pastrnak
Heinen–Krejci–DeBrusk
Donato–Nordstrom-Acciari
Wagner–Kuraly–Backes
Krug–Carlo
Grzelcyk–Moore
Lauzon–Clifton
Rask
Click here to download the new MyTeams App by NBC Sports! Receive comprehensive coverage of your teams and stream the Celtics easily on your device.