GAME DAY: Detroit gets Bertuzzi back in Boston, Larkin’s status remains uncertain

The Detroit Red Wings will get at least one top-six forward back when they take on the Boston Bruins at TD Garden on Thursday evening.

@Tyler Bertuzzi missed the Wings’ previous two games, both played in Canada, due to his unvaccinated status. Detroit lost them both by a combined 8-3 score. Bertuzzi will be eligible to return in Boston and will likely slot back in on the top line.

@Dylan Larkin’s status is far less certain. The Detroit captain missed Tuesday’s 3-0 loss to the Montreal Canadiens while dealing with an undisclosed personal matter. Larkin did not practice on Wednesday.

Detroit is 4-4-2 to start the season; the Bruins are 4-3-0. While the Red Wings’ start is encouraging, especially given the question marks surrounding many of their young players entering the season, there is a great deal more concern in Boston about the team only winning four of its first seven games.

@Patrice Bergeron is still searching for his first goal of the season and has just three assists in seven contests. @Nick Foligno and @Craig Smith have both missed time and haven’t been very productive when active. Even @David Pastrnak isn’t scoring very much.

You’ll be able to catch this game on Bally Sports Detroit at 7:00 p.m. ET.

Here’s our best guess as to how the Wings will line up on Thursday:

@Tyler Bertuzzi – @Robby Fabbri – @Lucas Raymond
@Joe Veleno – @Pius Suter – @Filip Zadina
@Vladislav Namestnikov – @Michael Rasmussen – @Adam Erne
@Givani Smith – @Mitchell Stephens – @Sam Gagner

Danny DeKeyser – @Moritz Seider
@Nick Leddy – @Filip Hronek
@Marc Staal – @Jordan Oesterle

After stopping 38 of 40 shots in Montreal on Tuesday, expect @Alex Nedeljkovic to be back between the pipes in Boston.

Boston lined up thusly in practice on Wednesday:

@Brad Marchand – @Patrice Bergeron – @David Pastrnak
@Taylor Hall – @Charlie Coyle – @Craig Smith
@Jake DeBrusk – @Erik Haula – @Curtis Lazar
@Trent Frederic – @Tomas Nosek – @Karson Kuhlman

@Derek Forbort – @Charlie McAvoy
@Matt Grzelcyk – @Brandon Carlo
@Mike Reilly – @Connor Clifton

@Jeremy Swayman will start for Boston against the Red Wings. The 22-year-old is 1-2-0 with an .893 save percentage this season.

Detroit: @Tyler Bertuzzi (six goals, nine points); @Lucas Raymond (four goals, nine points); @Dylan Larkin (three goals, eight points); @Moritz Seider (zero goals, eight points); @Vladislav Namestnikov (four goals, six points).

Boston: @Brad Marchand (four goals, eight points); @Charlie Coyle (three goals, five points); @Taylor Hall (two goals, five points); @David Pastrnak (two goals, five points); @Charlie McAvoy (one goal, three points).

Detroit: It’s no secret that Danny DeKeyser and @Filip Hronek are off to rough starts this season. But what about @Nick Leddy? The 30-year-old rearguard has just three points — all assists — in his first 10 games with Detroit and, according to Evolving-Hockey, a team-worst -2.1 defensive Goals Above Replacement figure.

Boston: Remember when @Erik Haula was a 55-point guy in Vegas? He’s had a couple of decent seasons since but hasn’t come close to replicating that success. Haula signed a two-year deal with Boston in the offseason but doesn’t seem to have arrived for the Bruins just yet, having notched just a single assist in his first seven games with the team.

Friday’s Red Wings game will be broadcast on Bally Sports Detroit starting at 7:00 p.m. ET. Canadian viewers will be able to watch on Sportsnet 360, Sportsnet East, Sportsnet Ontario, and Sportsnet Pacific.

It’ll be sent over the airwaves on WXVT-FM 97.1 “The Ticket” in the Detroit area, as well as on the Red Wings’ official website.