The Boston Bruins and the visiting Carolina Hurricanes each will look to get back on the winning track when they meet Thursday night.
Boston will be missing multiple key pieces after a 4-2 home loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday, the Bruins' second defeat in three games.
Captain Patrice Bergeron won't play after sustaining an upper-body injury in the third period, hitting his head near the boards on a collision with Sidney Crosby.
In addition, the NHL suspended Bruins forward Brad Marchand for six games for his late-game exchange with Penguins goalie Tristan Jarry. After the whistle, Marchand first threw a punch to Jarry's helmet, then while being escorted off the ice by a linesman, Marchand hit Jarry in the helmet with his stick.
"(Bergeron) won't be available tomorrow, then we'll see after that," Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said. "It involves his head, so we have to be careful. This is a guy who had a head injury in the past. ... Hopefully he's in good shape over the next few days, but we're going to take as much time as we need."
David Pastrnak, who leads Boston with 24 goals after scoring twice Tuesday, skated alongside left winger Taylor Hall and center Erik Haula on the top line in practice.
"Replacing your captain and a player like (Marchand) isn't as simple as everyone doing a little more," Hall said. "We have to find a way to all be the best version of ourselves and play collectively. ... We're going to have to be dialed in, especially against the team we're playing (Thursday)."
Linus Ullmark, who is 9-1-1 in his past 11 decisions, is expected to start in goal for Boston. Jeremy Swayman made 21 saves but allowed three second-period goals in the loss to the Penguins.
That looks to be Boston's goaltending duo going forward now that Tuukka Rask's comeback is over. Rask announced his retirement after playing in four NHL games last month following his return from offseason hip surgery.
"Tuukka wants to play at a certain level. If he doesn't feel he can get there, he's going to have a decision to make. That's what he's going through now," Cassidy said. "It's back to where we were at the beginning of the year with Ullmark and Swayman. We need them to play well to give us the best chance."
Carolina has lost consecutive 4-3 decisions to begin a four-game road trip but is 7-2-1 in its last 10. After a Monday overtime setback at Toronto, the Hurricanes scored three third-period goals to turn a 4-0 deficit into a one-goal game the following night but lost 4-3 at Ottawa.
Andrei Svechnikov, Brendan Smith and Vincent Trocheck scored Tuesday for Carolina, which lost despite piling up 45 shots on goal including eight on the power play.
"I like the fact that we don't quit," Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "We're gonna have games where it doesn't go your way and we need to keep digging in. The game was the start of the second period when we gave them two quick ones (in less than three minutes). That was tough."
Forward Teuvo Teravainen could return after missing four games due to a lower-body injury. He is on the trip and was recently a game-time decision. The Canes' most recent lineup was also without Jesperi Kotkaniemi, who entered COVID-19 protocol last weekend.
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