Bruins Hit Ice With Lines Still Up In Air
BOSTON (CBS) - The Boston Bruins hit the TD Garden ice for their morning skate before Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals against the Vancouver Canucks.
With top line forward Nathan Horton out with a severe concussion, there are still questions as to who will move up and play alongside David Krecji and Milan Lucic Wednesday night.
The most likely candidate would be Rich Peverley, who has been playing on the fourth line and penalty kill unit. In the playoffs, Peverely has two goals and seven assists, and is a plus-five in his time on the ice. He played a playoff-high 19 minutes in Game 3 and will bring plenty of speed to the Bruins front line if they elect to bump him up.
Listen: Gresh & Zo: Where Do Bruins Go Without Horton?
Claude Julien Gives No Clues About Lines
The Bruins could also toy with moving Michael Ryder up to the top line, who has experience playing alongside Krejci and Lucic. However, Claude Julien would likely leave Ryder on the third line with Tyler Seguin returning to the roster in Horton's spot. Although GM Peter Chiarelli told 98.5 The Sports Hub's Toucher and Rich he felt the third line had "stalled a bit" Wednesday morning, prompting the team to bench Seguin for Thornton, Julien likes to stick with his lines.
Read: Chiarelli On Thornton: "Injects Energy" Into Bruins
As usual on game days, Mark Recchi was not on the ice for the morning skate. The second line will stay intact with Patrice Bergeron centering Recchi and Brad Marchand.
That likely means the fourth "merlot" line will be Gregory Campbell, Daniel Paille and Thornton.
A lot can happen between now and when the puck drops a little after 8 p.m. but it looks as though the speedy Peverely, one of Chiarelli's trade deadline acquisitions, will find his spot on the top line to start the game.
A lot can happen though...
98.5 The Sports Hub is the only local station to listen to every game of the Stanley Cup Finals. Coverage begins an hour before each game with the Bruins Pregame show hosted by Dave Goucher & Bob Beers.
