Michael DiPietro will start in net for the Boston Bruins on Friday in Anaheim, with the only change to Boston’s lineup coming in goal. The Bruins face the Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center with a 10 p.m. ET puck drop, and the move sends DiPietro into a road game after Boston’s 6-3 win over the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday at SAP Center.
The timing matters because Boston is coming off a night that showed real scoring depth. Fraser Minten scored twice in that win and has five points in the last two games, including three goals and two assists, while the rest of the lineup stays intact. Marco Sturm said Minten will keep centering the second line between Marat Khusnutdinov and JJ Peterka, a group that has given the Bruins speed and playmaking through the middle of the trip.
Peterka, acquired from the Utah Mammoth in June, has fit quickly. He is on a two-game point streak with three assists and has averaged 16:34 of ice time per night during that stretch. After time with the group, he said the group has used the last two days to get closer and is excited for the game. That gives Boston a little more structure in front of DiPietro, who now gets a start as the Bruins try to carry their recent offense into Anaheim.
Sturm did not sound interested in reading too much into the Ducks’ injury list. He said Anaheim is still a tough team with very good young players and very good special teams, and added that Boston has to make sure it plays 5-on-5 and handles its own special teams. He also pointed back to problems Boston had against Anaheim last year, which is a reminder that the Ducks remain difficult even when pieces are missing.
That is why DiPietro’s start stands out. Boston is not changing the skaters around him, so the decision is less about shaking up the roster than about choosing a different option in goal for a game that could hinge on one save or one mistake. If the Bruins keep the same pace they showed in San Jose, the question in Anaheim is whether the new starter can make the lineup change hold up through a tight road night.
