Perhaps a two-game road trip is something that the Bruins need.

Following an 0-3-0 start, head coach Claude Julien and company will get away from the friendly confines (or in this instance a lack thereof) of TD Garden as they begin their brief two-game west coast swing tonight against the Colorado Avalanche in Denver.

As thin as the Bruins defense is already, they are down another man as Joe Morrow was placed on injured reserve on Tuesday. Former Boston College stand out Tommy Cross, the B’s second round pick in the 2007 Draft, earned the first callup of his career from Providence and will travel with the team.

Also making the trip is Brad Marchand. The Bruins forward missed Monday’s 6-3 loss to the Lightning with a concussion but skated at practice the very next day supporting a green non-contact jersey. Marchand is considered day-to-day.

Puck drop: 10:00 p.m.
Records: Bruins 0-3-0 (0 points), Avalanche 1-1-0 (2 points)
TV/Radio: NESN/98.5 The Sports Hub
Location: Pepsi Center

Bruins projected lines:

Loui Eriksson-Patrice Bergeron-Brett Connolly
Matt Beleskey-David Krejci-David Pastrnak
Chris Kelly-Ryan Spooner-Jimmy Hayes
Zac Rinaldo-Joonas Kemppainen-Tyler Randell

Zdeno Chara-Kevan Miller
Torey Krug-Adam McQuaid
Tommy Cross-Colin Miller

Jonas Gustavsson
Tuukka Rask

Avalanche projected lines:

Blake Comeau-Matt Duchene-Jarome Iginla
Gabriel Landeskog-Nathan McKinnon-Alex Tanguay
Mikko Rantanen-Carl Soderberg-Borna Rendulic
Cody McLeod-John Mitchell-Jack Skille

Francois Beauchemin-Erik Johnson
Tyson Barrie-Nikita Zadorov
Brad Stuart-Nick Holden

Semyon Varlamov
Reto Berra

Matchup to watch: Special teams

The Bruins’ PK unit will have their hands full against Gabriel Landeskog and the Avs’ top ranked power play. (Photo by Joe Makarski/Bruins Daily)

Take it for what its worth, but the Bruins and Avs have both been successful on the power play through the first week.

The B’s man advantage units were the lone bright spot in Monday’s loss to the Lightning. All three of their goals — including two by Loui Eriksson — were scored on the power play. They also added another PP tally from Patrice Bergeron in garbage time during Saturday’s 4-2 loss to the Canadiens. The Avs, meanwhile, sport the best PP percentage in the early going at 66.7 percent and had a pair of goals on the man advantage in each of their first two games.

On the flip side, the Avs penalty kill has allowed a goal in each of their first two games. The Bruins PK, meanwhile, is coming off a loss where they allowed a pair of power play goals to the talented Lightning. Prior to that, they did fare okay against the Canadiens killing six of their seven chances with the man advantage.

Perhaps the Bruins power play can help build momentum and at the very least establish the tempo in hopes of getting their first win of the season. The bigger concern of course will be their defense after giving up 16 goals in the first three games, but putting away their chances on the man advantage can go a long way, especially against an Avs PK unit that has also struggled a bit in their first two games.

Storyline to watch: Soderberg faces former team for the first time

Carl Soderberg faces his former team for the first time tonight. (Photo by Joe Makarski/Bruins Daily)

Following his departure in the off-season, Soderberg will see his old friends from Boston for the first time.

So far, the Swede is making the most of his new home as he has a pair of assists. Soderberg’s role is similar to the one he had in Boston as the team’s third line center, a role he fared decently with the Bruins during his two-plus years (29 goals, 45 assists in 161 career games in Black and Gold).

Against a defense that is struggling, Soderberg’s line will be one to watch on Wednesday night as they’ll likely draw a matchup against the B’s bottom defensive pairing of Zach Trotman and Colin Miller. Any breakdowns against the Rantanen-Soderberg-Rendulic trio could result in another long night for the Black and Gold.