The 25-year-old defenseman — pressed into service because of the absences of Hampus Lindholm and Charlie McAvoy — logged 16:27 of ice time skating alongside Brandon Carlo.

Brad Marchand went a little too far in trying to get an opponent hot under the collar. The well-know Bruins agitator put his hand around the neck of Senators forward Nick Cousins in the first period of Boston’s 2-0 win Thursday night.

After an ugly loss to the New Jersey Devils on Jan. 22, the Boston Bruins bounced back in a big way against the Ottawa Senators on Jan. 23. The Bruins defeated their division rival by a 2-0 final score and have jumped up from sixth place to third place in the Atlantic Division.

The Ottawa Senators were unable to find the back of the net as they fell to the Boston Bruins by a score of 2-0.

Boston Bruins center Morgan Geekie, right, is congratulated after his goal against Ottawa Senators goaltender Anton Forsberg (31) during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa) AP

Tim Stutzle scored in the shootout to lift the Ottawa Senators to a 6-5 win over the Boston Bruins. Leevi Merilainen, who made 23 saves in regulation and overtime, turned away all three Bruins skaters in the tiebreaker.

BOTTOM LINE: The Boston Bruins take on the Ottawa Senators in a matchup of Atlantic Division teams. Boston is 23-20-6 overall and 8-5-2 against the Atlantic Division. The Bruins are 19-3-2 when scoring three or more goals.

The two teams met over the weekend when the Bruins lost the lead in the final minutes of regulation and then the game in a shootout.

Cam Talbot stopped 28 shots for his second shutout of the season as the Detroit Red Wings beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-0 on Saturday night. Marco Kasper redirected J.T. Compher’s shot at 9:55 of the second period,

The Bruins have fought the injury bug while battling to remain among the NHL’s playoff contenders with under three months remaining in the regular season.

That one is hard to forget because Ottawa forward Ridly Greig sealed the victory by firing a slapshot into an empty net. Toronto defenceman Morgan Rielly was so upset with the act he punched Greig in the head and earned a five-game suspension.