BOSTON — The Bruins hit the TD Garden ice Wednesday morning for their final practice before Thursday night’s Eastern Conference semifinals Game 1 against the Montreal Canadiens.
Daniel Paille was a full participant in his usual left wing role on the fourth line alongside Gregory Campbell and Shawn Thornton. His return resulted in Jordan Caron being the extra forward on the merlot line. Paille has not played since he suffered an upper-body injury on April 12 against the Buffalo Sabres.
In the event that Paille plays in the series-opener versus Montreal, it wouldn’t be surprising if Caron is a healthy scratch because Justin Florek is still wearing a grey jersey as part of a third line that includes Loui Eriksson and Carl Soderberg. This has been one of Boston’s best trios through five playoff games and it would be foolish to break it up.
“He playing the way he’s been asked to play,” Julien said when describing Florek’s playoff performance. “He’s a decent skater, big body, protects the puck well. He’s done a great job of getting to the front of the net net. He’s done everything we’ve asked of him. For a guy with very little (playoff) experience I think he’s done a good job.”
Veteran defenseman Dennis Seidenberg took part in practice for the second time in as many days. He’s not yet able to take contact, but the 32-year-old blueliner skated well and moved the puck accurately in several different drills. Trade deadline acquisition Corey Potter also was absent from Wednesday’s practice. The veteran D-man played in Game 1 of the first round and hasn’t seen game action since.
Chris Kelly still hasn’t practiced during the postseason. He suffered a lower-body injury on April 8 against the Minnesota Wild and hasn’t played since that game.
Here are the forward lines and group of defensemen from Wednesday’s practice.
White: Milan Lucic — David Krejci — Jarome Iginla
Gold: Brad Marchand –Patrice Bergeron — Reilly Smith
Grey: Justin Florek — Carl Soderberg — Loui Eriksson
Merlot: Daniel Paille — Gregory Campbell — Shawn Thornton (Jordan Caron as an extra)
Defensemen: Zdeno Chara, Dougie Hamilton, Johnny Boychuk, Torey Krug, Dennis Seidenberg, Andrej Meszaros, Matt Bartkowski, Kevan Miller
