The Boston Bruins (9-4-1) are back at home, and they will open a two-game homestand this afternoon in their second Original Six matchup of the season. They will take on the Chicago Blackhawks (4-9-0) in the first of two holiday matinees between the two teams.

The Bruins have won seven of their last 10 and sit at the top of the Atlantic Division. They have a one-point lead over the Montreal Canadiens, who play the Penguins on Saturday night. They have lost each of their last two, scoring just one goal in each game. The Bruins rank eighth in goals for per game, sitting at 3.57, but they have allowed 2.29 per game, which is the second-best in the NHL. 

The Blackhawks enter having lost four of their last five. They sit 31st in the league, and they are currently one of two teams without 10 points. They are also the only team in the league without a road win, having gone 0-5-0 away from United Center. 

The Blackhawks own the league’s worst power play, scoring four goals on 40 attempts thus far. They have also scored two goals or fewer over their last five games, and their 2.08 goals per game rank 31st. 

The Bruins went 2-0-0 against the Blackhawks last season. Fraser Minten scored the overtime winner during the game in Boston, and Mason Lohrei scored twice in a 5-2 win in Chicago. 

Bruins Morning Skate Notes

The Bruins will not hold a morning skate. Marco Sturm will speak about 90 minutes before puck drop to announce the starting goalie and any lineup changes.  

Expected Bruins Lines

Forwards

Defensemen

Source: Last game

Starting Goalie

Michael DiPietro (2-1-0, 1.69 GAA, .941 SV%)

Expected Blackhawks Lines

Forwards

Roman Kantserov – Connor Bedard – Teuvo Teravainen

Tyler Bertuzzi – Anton Frondell – Ryan Donato

Oliver Moore – Frank Nazar – Patrick Kane

Cole Smith – Ryan Greene – Jordan Greenway

Defensemen

Alex Vlasic – Ian Cole

Wyatt Kaiser – Artyom Levshunov

Kevin Korchinski – Sam Rinzel

Starting Goalie

Arvid Soderblom (0-2-0, 4.58 GAA, .820 SV%)

Source: Unconfirmed

Special Teams

Bruins

• Power play: 20.9% (16th)

• Penalty kill: 77.6% (18th)

Blackhawks 

• Power play: 10.0% (32nd)

• Penalty kill: 78.0% (17th)

Season Series

Saturday, Oct. 31: at Boston, 1:00 PM

Friday, Jan. 1: at Chicago, 3:00 PM

Upcoming Schedule

Monday, Nov. 2: vs. Vegas, 7:00 PM

Thursday, Nov. 5: at Pittsburgh, 7:00 PM

Sunday, Nov. 8: vs. Florida, 1:00 PM

Thursday, Nov. 12: vs. Montreal, 7:00 PM

How To Watch