Matthew Poitras is expected to return

The Bruins bounced back from a tough season-opening loss to face the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday in their first matinee match of the season.

Boston won a thrilling 6-4 match against the Montreal Canadiens at TD Garden on Thursday. The result may not have been ideal, but the clash marked Jeremy Swyman's first start since signing his contract extension, as the Black and Gold received contributions from their off-season signings.

Saturday could mark the return of Matthew Poitras, who missed the final week of preseason and the first two games of the season due to injury.

“He's very close, he's making the right progress. I will say he is a possibility (Saturday). We’ll just have to wait and see how he responds later today,” Jim Montgomery told reporters on Friday, according to Eric Russo of BostonBruins.com

Poitras returned to practice Thursday and expressed excitement about getting back on the ice and getting his sophomore season on track. The Bruins waived defenseman Ian Mitchell with the intent of moving to Providence, suggesting an activation for Poitras, where he will slot into the third line alongside Trent Frederic and Justin Brazeau. Riley Tufte will be the odd man out in the forward group.

Mason Lohrei is also expected to return to the lineup after being a healthy scratch on Thursday. Montgomery emphasized he wanted everyone to play at least once early in the season to get used to regular-season action. Lohrei will replace Parker Wotherspoon and is expected to work alongside Andrew Peeke.

TD Garden puck drop is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. ET, and you can catch full coverage an hour before the game on NESN. Stay tuned for a new episode of “A Century of Boston Bruins Hockey: Characters” following the postgame coverage.

Here are the planned lines and defensive pairings for both sides.

BOSTON BRUINS (1-1-0)
Pavel Zacha – Elias Lindholm – David Pastrnak
Brad Marchand – Charlie Coyle – Morgan Geekie
Trent Frederic – Matthew Poitras – Justin Brazeau
John Beecher – Mark Kastelic – Cole Koepke

Nikita Zadorov-Charlie McAvoy
Hampus Lindholm – Brandon Carlo
Mason Lohrei – Andrew Peeke

Jeremy Swayman

LOS ANGELES KINGS (1-0-0)
Alex Laferriere – Anze Kopitar – Adrian Kempe
Kevin Fiala – Quinton Byfield – Warren Foegele
Tanner Jeannot – Phillip Danault – Trevor Moore
Andre Lee – Alex Turcotte – Trevor Lewis

Mikey Anderson-Jordan Spence
Joel Edmundson – Brandt Clarke
Vladislav Gavrikov – Kyle Burroughs

Darcy Kuemper