An old friend is officially back for the Bruins, as Jim Montgomery has confirmed that Chris Wagner will make his Bruins debut in Sunday night’s head-to-head with the Anaheim Ducks.

“A little added motivation [because] he played here in Anaheim,” Montgomery said of the decision to throw Wagner into action for tonight’s contest. “I just told him, ‘Go out there and enjoy yourself.’ He knows our structure, he knows how to play, and I think he’s someone who fits in with how we like to play.”

Recalled from Providence following Jake DeBrusk’s move to the long-term injured reserve, the 31-year-old Wagner has been with the club in California since his flight landed in Los Angeles late Wednesday night.

Wagner’s jump into action comes a night after the Bruins went with an 11-forward, 7-defenseman look for the first time all season, with Jakub Zboril as Boston’s No. 7 defenseman in what was his first game action since Nov. 23.

One of the final cuts from training camp, Wagner will make his Big B’s season debut after a 27-game Providence run that’s come with nine goals and 11 points for Ryan Mougenel’s squad. Recalled by the Bruins after posting points in two straight games with the P-Bruins, Wagner put himself on the board with the game-winning goal in his last outing with Providence prior to his call to Boston, which was a 4-3 win over Hershey back on Dec. 31.

Overall, the Walpole, Mass. native has recoded 24 goals and 38 points in 89 games in the AHL since 2021.

This will be the Walpole, Mass. native’s first regular-season NHL game since last year’s finale in Toronto, which saw Wagner rack up 11 hits in 15:57 of time on ice, and the Bruins are going to ask for more of that tonight.

“I think that’s going to be good for us, because I don’t think we were very physical [Saturday],” Montgomery said of the hitting element Wagner brings to the table. “I thought San Jose was physically, like, offensively, going to our net and I think we need a little more of a response that way, and I think he’ll give that to us.”

Wagner last skated for the Bruins during the 2022 postseason, where he appeared in three games for the Bruins during their seven-game series with the Hurricanes, and totaled seven hits and a blocked shot.

With the Bruins since 2018, Wagner has totaled 20 goals and and 34 points, along with 525 hits and 272 shots on goal, in 185 games with the Black and Gold.

And Wagner’s 525 hits since 2018 rank first among all Boston skaters over that timeframe, even with Wagner spending the last season and a half in the minors.

With Wagner in and A.J. Greer still under the weather, Zboril will come out of the Black and Gold’s lineup, while Montgomery will go back to some old reliables when it comes to his lines.

On the second line, David Pastrnak will reunite with David Krejci and Pavel Zacha on the Bruins’ Czech’ing line, while Taylor Hall will return to the left side of Boston’s third line with Charlie Coyle and Trent Frederic.

Wagner, meanwhile, will skate to the right of a fourth line featuring Nick Foligno and Tomas Nosek.

That tinkering spells a promotion for Craig Smith, as No. 12 will move up to the right wing of Boston’s first line with Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand after scoring a goal in Saturday’s victory over the Sharks.

The B’s come into tonight’s game riding a 13-game point streak, with a 10-0-3 record since Dec. 11.