Boston Bruins defenseman Dougie Hamilton is back.
The second-year D-man will make his return to the Bruins’ lineup on Saturday afternoon in Philadelphia where the B’s will take on the Flyers. Hamilton will be back in the lineup for the first time since Jan. 11. Hamilton suffered the concussion on Jan. 9 against the Los Angeles Kings and finished that game. He then played the following game against San Jose. He felt nauseous and light-headed during that game and was later diagnosed with a concussion.
Hamilton’s return should boost the team in all three zones. The blueliner has been much better in his own end this season, which is in addition to an already solid offensive game. Hamilton’s return should also benefit the power play. With Hamilton out, Zdeno Chara was on the point on the team’s second power-play unit. With Hamilton back in the fold, Chara should be able to move back to up front on the first unit, which is where he’s been most effective.
The return of Hamilton isn’t the only lineup news for Saturday’s game. Ryan Spooner will be out of the lineup against the Flyers, as he is sick. He’ll be replaced in the lineup by Jordan Caron, and Carl Soderberg will move over to center the third line in Spooner’s place. Chris Kelly isn’t quite ready to return yet from a fractured fibula.
Here are the projected lines for Saturday’s matinee in Philadelphia.
Bruins (31-15-3, 65 points)
Milan Lucic — David Krejci — Jarome Iginla
Brad Marchand — Patrice Bergeron — Reilly Smith
Daniel Paille  — Carl Soderberg — Loui Eriksson
Jordan Caron — Gregory Campbell — Shawn Thornton
Zdeno Chara — Dougie Hamilton
Torey Krug — Kevan Miller
Matt Bartkowski — Johnny Boychuk
Flyers (25-21-6, 56 points)
Michael Raffi — Claude Giroux — Jakub Voracek
Scott Hartnell — Brayden Schenn — Wayne Simmonds
Matt Read — Sean Couturier — vincent Lecavalier
Steve Downie — Adam Hall — Chris VandeVelde
Kimmo Timonen — Braydon Coburn
Mark Streit — Nicklas Grossmnann
Luke Schenn — Andrej Meszaros
