Bruins Lineup Changes vs. Stars: Zadorov, Zacha Set to Return
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Boston Bruins head coach Marco Sturm shared the lineup changes for Tuesday night’s game against the Stars which features the return of two players.
“Let's start with this, Sway [Jeremy Swayman] will be in net,” said Sturm. “Z [Nikita Zadorov] will be back in, and Pav [Pavel Zacha] sounds like and looks like he's ready to go.”
Sturm also confirmed that forward Sean Kuraly and defenseman Jonathan Aspirot will be healthy scratches.
Marco Sturm says Pavel Zacha and Nikita Zadorov will play tonight against the Stars.
— Adam Pellerin (@adampellerin) October 20, 2026
Aspirot and Kuraly are out.
Swayman in net. #NHLBruins @NESN
Swayman will make his eighth start this season. So far during the Bruins’ campaign, he has boasted a 1.85 goals against average, a .934 save percentage, and a 6-1 record.
Zadorov was out in Boston’s 4-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday night as a healthy scratch.
“Z’s a tremendous player and leader for our team,” said Sturm on Saturday. “I think we've been mentioning for a while his discipline on the ice. I think that's something he just needs to be better, but yeah, he was not happy. But he's a great human being and he's a competitor and I do believe he comes [back] stronger after this message and he will be back to normal and even better after that.”
In Boston’s game against the Anaheim Ducks on Friday night, Zadorov was called for three penalties, all two-minute minors, including a back-to-back late in the second period for elbowing and roughing.
His other penalty was for tripping early in the first period.
Zadorov leads the team in penalty minutes this season with 29 which is 15 more than the second-most minutes on the team (14).
His 29 minutes are also the second-most across the league, slightly behind Calgary Flames forward Adam Klapka who leads the NHL with 32.
Zacha also returns after missing the Bruins’ game against the Kings with an upper-body injury.
Sturm stated Zacha was day-to-day and was a game-time decision for Tuesday night.
Zacha talked about his health on Tuesday ahead of the team’s matchup with the Stars.
“Feeling good,” said Zacha. “Yeah, feel back to 100 percent. So, it's good. It was kind of just [a] quick turnaround and I'm able to feel back to how I felt before.”
Bruins morning skate lines:
— Belle Fraser (@bellefraser1) October 20, 2026
Peterka-Zacha-Pastrnak
Khusnutdinov-Minten-Geekie
Mittelstadt-E. Lindholm-Hagens
Jeannot-Poitras-Kastelic
Kuraly
H. Lindholm-McAvoy
Zadorov-Borgen
Brunet-Lohrei
Aspirot-Clifton
Swayman
DiPietro
The Bruins and Stars square off at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN.
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Kim Rankin is a lead writer for Boston Bruins on SI and Boston College On SI. A 2020 graduate of the University of Alabama. she joined Alabama Crimson Tide On SI in February 2024 covering baseball, softball, football, men’s basketball, and more for BamaCentral, but has also contributed to Missouri Tigers On SI. She previously worked as the brand manager at Tide 100.9 FM in Tuscaloosa, Ala. She has covered a wide variety of events including SEC Championships, NCAA Regionals, and bowl games.
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