They will be shorthanded again though. Gregory Campbell did not make the trip and will miss his second game after suffering a fracture in his foot from a shot in Saturday's game in Columbus.

Zdeno Chara did accompany the team to Ottawa and skated Wednesday morning for the first time since suffering a left leg injury against the Blue Jackets. Chara is officially a game-time decision but is not expected to play against the Senators.

Jordan Caron, a healthy scratch Tuesday with Daniel Paille returning from a mild concussion, was the only other Bruin to skate on Wednesday as the rest of the team got the morning off after playing and traveling Tuesday night. That would indicate that Caron will remain out, with Zach Hamill staying in Campbell's spot centering the fourth line. Hamill had a strong game on Tuesday, setting up the Bruins' first goal.

Tim Thomas is expected to get the start in goal. Claude Julien announced that was his intention prior to Tuesday's game, but declined to answer when asked if Tuukka Rask's 41-save shutout against Los Angeles had changed his thinking at all. Thomas has historically dominated the Senators with a 20-8-2 record, 1.95 GAA, .936 save percentage and six shutouts against Ottawa.

The Senators also played on Tuesday, beating Buffalo 3-2 in overtime. The win came at a price though, with Milan Michalek, who leads the NHL with 19 goals, suffering a concussion in a collision with teammate Erik Karlsson.

Marlborough, Mass., native Bobby Butler will return to the lineup with Michalek sidelined, with captain Daniel Alfredsson moving up to Michalek's spot on the top line alongside Jason Spezza and Colin Greening.

Ottawa is also without defensemen Sergei Gonchar and Filip Kuba, who are both sidelined with upper-body injuries.

Craig Anderson, who was briefly a Bruin in 2006 when he dressed for five games as a backup but did not see any game action, will get the start in goal for Ottawa.

Marc Joanette and Tom Kowal will be the referees, with Steve Barton and Lonnie Cameron working the lines.

Projected Bruins lines

Forwards

Milan Lucic-David Krejci-Nathan Horton
Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-Tyler Seguin
Benoit Pouliot-Chris Kelly-Rich Peverley
Daniel Paille-Zach Hamill-Shawn Thornton

Defense

Dennis Seidenberg-Joe Corvo
Andrew Ference-Adam McQuaid
Steve Kampfer-Johnny Boychuk

Goalies

Tim Thomas
Tuukka Rask

Scratches: Zdeno Chara (lower body), Gregory Campbell (foot), Jordan Caron

Projected Senators lines

Forwards

Colin Greening-Jason Spezza-Daniel Alfredsson
Nick Foligno-Peter Regin-Bobby Butler
Erik Condra-Zack Smith-Chris Neil
Kaspars Daugavins-Zenon Konopka-Jesse Winchester

Defense

Chris Phillips-Brian Lee
Jared Cowen-Erik Karlsson
David Rundblad-Matt Carkner

Goalies

Craig Anderson
Alex Auld

Scratches: Milan Michalek (concussion), Sergei Gonchar (upper body), Filip Kuba (upper body)

The Bruins, fresh off three straight wins by a combined goal count of 18-5, will host Edmonton, which comes in having won seven of its last eight games.

Veteran goalie Nikolai Khabibulin has been a huge part of that success, starting the season with a 7-0-2 record, 0.98 goals-against average and .964 save percentage. But Khabibulin will get the night off, with the Oilers starting backup Devan Dubnyk instead.

Dubnyk is no slouch himself, posting a 2.19 GAA and a .930 save percentage so far this season. He has just a 2-3-0 record to show for it, but Edmonton coach Tom Renney likes how the 6-foot-5, 210-pound Dubnyk matches up with the physical Bruins, who thrive on crashing the crease and creating havoc in front of the net.

"We play back to back here and it's one of those situations where Dubnyk has to play too," said Renney, whose club plays at Detroit on Friday. "This is a big, strong team, and I think this is tailor made for Devan quite honestly. To see this team and see their attack, with his size and strength, it sort of lines up well for us."

The Bruins appear that they might be going with their backup as well. Coach Claude Julien didn't confirm his choice in net, but Tuukka Rask was the first off the ice at the morning skate, traditionally the sign of who will start that night. Rask posted his first win of the season in his fourth start on Monday, and has a 2.53 GAA and .910 save percentage this season.

Rich Peverley participated in the morning skate and will be a game-time decision after missing Monday's game with an undisclosed injury. If Peverley can't play, Zach Hamill will make his season debut after being recalled from Providence on Wednesday. Hamill has moved to wing this season and responded with a team-leading 5-5-10 line through 14 games at Providence.

"I've been playing right wing pretty much the whole time and it's been pretty good," Hamill said. "Butch [Providence coach Bruce Cassidy] has really shown confidence in me and I appreciate that. I'm just trying to work hard and show them what I can do."

Hamill will only get into the lineup if Peverley can't go, but his play in Providence has put him on Julien's radar after being sent down early in training camp.

"I went and saw him play maybe two or three weekends ago, and to me he was their best player," Julien said. "I really liked the way he played. He's playing wing this year and he was making good plays. He was technically pretty sound and I thought he was competing well."

Daniel Paille will definitely miss the game after undergoing surgery on his broken nose on Wednesday. Benoit Pouliot will move into Paille's spot on the fourth line alongside Gregory Campbell and Shawn Thornton.

"They've been playing great, so it's going to be fun," Pouliot said. "They're big, physical guys. Piesy does the job well and I just have to jump in there and do what he does, use my speed and create plays."

Julien is confident that Pouliot, who scored his first goal of the season on Monday, will mesh well with his new linemates.

"I don't think we question Benoit's work ethic, and that's what that line is all about," Julien said. "They compete hard. They work hard. He'll fit in. He's excited to be with them and they're excited to have him. We're going to miss Dan obviously for [Thursday night's] game, but that's part of the process of a whole season. You have guys you have to plug into different areas and do the job, and we feel pretty confident that Pouliot can do that."

Dan O'Rourke and Justin St. Pierre will be the referees, with Jean Morin and Mark Shewchyk working the lines.

Projected Bruins lines

Forwards

Milan Lucic-David Krejci-Nathan Horton

Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-Tyler Seguin

Jordan Caron-Chris Kelly-Rich Peverley

Benoit Pouliot-Gregory Campbell-Shawn Thornton

Defense

Zdeno Chara-Johnny Boychuk

Dennis Seidenberg-Joe Corvo

Andrew Ference-Adam McQuaid

Goalies

Tuukka Rask

Tim Thomas

Scratches: Daniel Paille (broken nose), Zach Hamill, Steven Kampfer

Projected Oilers lines

Forwards

Taylor Hall-Ryan Nugent-Hopkins-Jordan Eberle

Ryan Smyth-Shawn Horcoff-Ales Hemsky

Ryan Jones-Eric Belanger-Sam Gagner

Ben Eager-Anton Lander-Lennart Pentrell

Defense

Ladislav Smid-Tom Gilbert

Theo Peckham-Corey Potter

Cam Barker-Jeff Petry

Goalies

Devan Dubnyk

Nikolai Khabibulin

Scratches: Magnus Paajarvi, Andy Sutton (suspension), Colten Teubert, Darcy Hordichuk (knee), Ryan Whitney (knee)

The Bruins will face the Canadiens for the first time this season on Thursday when the Habs visit the Garden to open a home-and-home series. It's sure to be an emotional game with the long history of animosity between the Original Six rivals, and that might be just what the Bruins need to snap out of their early-season funk.

"A couple games back-to-back with the emotions that usually come out of games with Montreal could be good for us," Bruins forward Brad Marchand said after practice Wednesday. "We have to use it to our advantage."

Of course, it will be hard to top last year's wild showdowns between the clubs. Those meetings included a donnybrook at the Garden that produced 182 penalty minutes and a goalie fight between Tim Thomas and Carey Price. Then there was Zdeno Chara's infamous hit on Max Pacioretty, which left the Habs forward out for the rest of the season with a broken vertebra and concussion after being driven into a Bell Centre stanchion and the Bruins captain facing a criminal investigation in Quebec. Oh, and then there was that epic first-round playoff clash that wasn't settled until Nathan Horton struck in overtime of Game 7.

"It's crazy," Marchand said of the rivalry. "Just from last season we had a few ridiculous battles, right to Game 7 in overtime. You can see why it's gone back so long in history and how the fans enjoy it and how means it means every time we play them. Every time you see we're playing Montreal you mark it down on the calendar and you're always looking forward to it."

Given that history and the fact that both teams are off to disappointing starts, these two games should be especially intense for such early-season encounters. While Boston has battled its Stanley Cup hangover in a 3-5-0 start, the Habs have struggled even more. They finally snapped a six-game losing streak with a 5-1 win over Philadelphia on Wednesday night, but Montreal is still just 2-5-2 on the year.

"It's going to be a big game, these games are always big," Chara said. "Not even talking about the rivalry, just as far as the standings and where both teams are I'm sure it's going to be two big games for both teams."

The Bruins may be able to channel the emotion that's always present in these matchups with Montreal to get back on track, but Boston coach Claude Julien stressed that the bigger issue facing the club is cleaning up its own game. The Bruins need to worry about themselves more than the opposition, regardless of the past history with that foe.

"Certainly Montreal is a great rivalry, but for me it doesn't matter who comes in," Julien said. "We just have to understand that we have to get ourselves winning on a more consistent basis. It's as simple as that. It's more about looking at ourselves than looking at the opponent."

And even with Montreal's historically horrific start, which included losing its first five home games for the first time in the franchise's 102-year history, Julien believes the Bruins should be just as desperate as the Canadiens.

"Anybody who is in a situation like they are or we are should be hungry," Julien said. "I don't know why they should be any hungier than we are, because we're not doing that great ourselves."

But if they are planning any changes, coach Claude Julien wasn’t tipping his hand after the morning skate.

“You’re going to see 23 guys out there on the ice and we’ll make some decisions after the warm-up,” Julien said.

The Bruins have regularly had extra skaters on the ice for the warm-up throughout the playoffs. Rookie Tyler Seguin took part in every warm-up before getting into the lineup in the conference final against Tampa Bay. Defenseman Shane Hnidy has also been a regular in the pre-game workout, while rookie defenseman Steven Kampfer starting taking part in the Tampa series after recovering from a knee injury suffered late in the regular season while on assignment to Providence (AHL).

Shawn Thornton has skated in the warm-up in each of the last seven games as well, but Monday he might do more than that. The Bruins could use the energy, emotion and experience the physical winger would bring, but his status won’t be known until after the warm-up.

The Canucks aren’t expected to make any changes from the Game 2 lineup. Defenseman Dan Hamhuis, who missed that game after suffering an undisclosed injury while putting a hip check on Milan Lucic in Game 1, did not participate in the morning skate on Monday and is expected to remain out.

Former Bruin Andrew Alberts filled in for Hamhuis on Saturday and had a game-high six hits in 11:40. He was paired again with Christian Ehrhoff in the morning skate, while Keith Ballard and Christopher Tanev skated together in the extra pairing, indicating that Alberts will likely play again in Game 3.

“The guys we have right now that are available, Alberts and Ballard and Tanev, all three guys, they bring different things to the table,” Vancouver coach Alain Vigneault said. “At this time we feel that Alberts, with his size, with his physicality, is what we need in our lineup right now.”

Up front, the Canucks should also have the same lineup as Saturday, when Manny Malhotra returned for the first time since suffering a serious eye injury in March. He played 7:26 and was 6-1 on draws, and came through the experience with no ill effects.

“I’m not as sore as I thought I’d be,” Malhotra said. “Obviously just jumping back into a game situation, being hit for real, those things you tend to wonder how you’ll respond. But I feel really good now, and I’m just looking forward to [Monday night].”

With Malhotra back, Alexandre Bolduc will likely remain a scratch, along with fellow forwards Tanner Glass, Aaron Volpatti, Cody Hodgson and Sergei Shirokov.

Projected Bruins lines

Forwards
Milan Lucic-David Krejci-Nathan Horton
Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-Mark Recchi
Michael Ryder- Chris Kelly-Rich Peverley
Daniel Paille-Gregory Campbell-Shawn Thornton 

Defense
Zdeno Chara-Dennis Seidenberg
Andrew Ference-Johnny Boychuk
Tomas Kaberle-Adam McQuaid

Goalies
Tim Thomas
Tuukka Rask

Scratches: Tyler Seguin, Shane Hnidy, Steven Kampfer, Matt Bartkowski, Jordan Caron, Jamie Arniel, Trent Whitfield, Anton Khudobin

Projected Canucks lines

Forwards
Daniel Sedin-Henrik Sedin-Alex Burrows
Christopher Higgins-Ryan Kesler-Mason Raymond
Raffi Torres-Maxim Lapierre-Jannik Hansen
Jeff Tambellini-Manny Malhotra-Victor Oreskovich

Defense
Sami Salo-Alexander Edler
Aaron Rome-Kevin Bieksa
Andrew Alberts-Christian Ehrhoff

Goalies
Roberto Luongo
Cory Schneider

Scratches: Dan Hamhuis, Alexandre Bolduc, Keith Ballard, Christopher Tanev, Tanner Glass, Aaron Volpatti, Cory Hodgson, Sergei Shirokov, Eddie Lack

Forward Manny Malhotra could return for the first time since suffering a serious eye injury on March 16, while defenseman Dan Hamhuis is expected to be out after suffering an undisclosed injury during Game 1.

Vancouver coach Alain Vigneault remained tight-lipped about the status of both players, stating only that both would be "game-time decisions." Vigneault has remained steadfast throughout the postseason in offering as little information as possible when it comes to his club's injuries.

"I believe at the end of the day, at this time of the year when there's a lot at stake, you don't want the opposition to know if a certain player has this or that, so that, let's just put it this way, so they don't try to exploit something," Vigneault said. "It's as simple as that. I mean, during the season we share everything, as open as we can, but we don't play the same team usually two nights in a row. So that's probably why most teams do it this way."

If Malhotra plays, Alexandre Bolduc will likely come out of the lineup, with Malhotra centering Jeff Tambellini and Victor Oreskovich on the fourth line.

On defense, the Canucks can chose between former Bruin Andrew Alberts, Keith Ballard and Christopher Tanev. Alberts played with Christian Ehrhoff in practice on Friday, while Ballard and Tanev skated together as the extra pairing. 

The Bruins don't have any injury issues and are likely to stick with the same lineup, though Claude Julien could insert Shawn Thornton after how physical Game 1 was. Thornton would bring an emotional boost and some added leadership, plus the experience of having played in a Cup Final before when he won a championship with Anaheim in 2007.

But the problem is who would come out of the lineup. The only real option would be Tyler Seguin, who had no points in six games after putting up six points in his first two games at the start of the Tampa series. Julien, though, may not want to take Seguin's speed out of the lineup against a very quick Canucks squad.

"Every game is about making decisions here," Julien said. "Shawn for us right now is a guy that hasn't been in the dressing room between the first and second, and second and third. He's in the warm-up. He's getting dressed with the players. He's still doing his job. Whenever he hasn't been playing, he's still been a big asset to our hockey club. He's won a Stanley Cup. When he did win it, he had to miss some games as well.

"We're in a position where we have to make decisions based on our needs and what has to happen," Julien added. "We've at points envisioned a guy like Tyler, the way he played when Bergy [Patrice Bergeron] came back, we had to keep him in the lineup. As games go on, we make decisions. So what I'm saying is today might be different than tomorrow and so on, so forth."

Projected Bruins lines

Forwards
Milan Lucic-David Krejci-Nathan Horton
Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-Mark Recchi
Michael Ryder- Chris Kelly-Tyler Seguin
Daniel Paille-Gregory Campbell- Rich Peverley

Defense
Zdeno Chara-Dennis Seidenberg
Andrew Ference-Johnny Boychuk
Tomas Kaberle-Adam McQuaid

Goalies
Tim Thomas
Tuukka Rask

Scratches: Shawn Thornton, Shane Hnidy, Steven Kampfer, Matt Bartkowski, Jordan Caron, Jamie Arniel, Trent Whitfield, Anton Khudobin

Projected Canucks lines

Forwards
Daniel Sedin-Henrik Sedin-Alex Burrows
Christopher Higgins-Ryan Kesler-Mason Raymond
Raffi Torres-Maxim Lapierre-Jannik Hansen
Jeff Tambellini-Manny Malhotra-Victor Oreskovich

Defense
Sami Salo-Alexander Edler
Aaron Rome-Kevin Bieksa
Andrew Alberts-Christian Ehrhoff

Goalies
Roberto Luongo
Cory Schneider

Scratches: Dan Hamhuis, Alexandre Bolduc, Keith Ballard, Christopher Tanev, Tanner Glass, Aaron Volpatti, Cory Hodgson, Sergei Shirokov, Eddie Lack

They will not be holding a morning skate at the rink. Select players will be available to speak with the media at their team hotel at noon. Coach Claude Julien will then speak after the player access.

Stayed tuned to NESN.com for more updates after the Bruins' availability Wednesday afternoon.

But unlike Game 5, there's no mystery this time around, as Lightning coach Guy Boucher has made it clear he will go back to starter Dwayne Roloson after using backup Mike Smith in Game 5. There's also no doubt about who will be in goal for the Bruins, with Tim Thomas coming off one of his best performances yet in Monday's 3-1 win.

What isn't clear is whether or not Tampa will have its leading playoff goal-scorer in the lineup to try to beat Thomas on Wednesday. Sean Bergenheim suffered an undisclosed lower-body injury on Monday and did not finish Game 5. He did skate briefly Wednesday morning in Tampa, but his status won't be determined until the pre-game warm-up.

"We have to wait," Boucher said. "The doctors are looking at him now, and we have to wait until [Wednesday night]. And then make a game-time decision."

If Bergenheim, who has nine goals in 16 games this postseason, can't go, the Lightning have several options, likely either replacing him up front with Dana Tyrell or going with seven defensemen and reinserting Randy Jones into the lineup. Tyrell has no points and is a minus-3 in five playoff games, while Jones has one assist in five games, creating quite a drop off from Bergenheim.

Losing Bergenheim also disrupts Tampa's most effective two-way line, as he's combined with Dominic Moore and Steve Downie to create a line that has taken the pressure off stars Vincent Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis and Steven Stamkos (a combined 1-2-3 in the last three games) and driven opponents to distraction with their aggressive play in both ends of the ice.

"Well, obviously when you take somebody out that's been a big part of our playoffs, it does take some chemistry out, and I've got to find that," Boucher said. "I had to struggle with that in the second period of the last game, and the third period I kind of found what I wanted. So if he is not playing, we'll go with the chemistry that we planned on, and we've got the choice between putting Tyrell in the lineup and to fill the forward spot or we put in a seventh defenseman with Randy Jones. So that's still something that we're oscillating between."

The Bruins, meanwhile, aren't expected to make any lineup changes. Defenseman Johnny Boychuk left Game 5 midway through the third period after being hit into the boards by Downie, but he should be back in the lineup on Wednesday, leaving Shane Hnidy and Steven Kampfer as healthy scratches on defense.

With everyone healthy up front, Shawn Thornton figures to be the odd man out for the third game in a row.

The one thing that may change is the Bruins' power-play alignment. Boston is just 4-for-56 (7.1 percent) on the man-advantage this postseason, and in an effort to get something going on that unit moved big Zdeno Chara from the point to the front of the net briefly in Game 5. That's a deployment that could be utilized even more in this game when the Bruins get chances with the extra man.

"It's a possibility, I liked what he did last game in front of the net," Bruins coach Claude Julien said when asked about using Chara there again. "But he's only going to be useful in front of the net if we put him there if we get control of the puck and we get some shots on net. The first few power plays [in Game 5] we didn't really get control of the puck. It didn't matter who was in front at that point. So I didn't mind what he did and I think we need to see how this game unfolds, but it's certainly a possibility."

Projected Bruins lines

Forwards
Milan Lucic-David Krejci-Nathan Horton
Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-Mark Recchi
Michael Ryder- Chris Kelly-Tyler Seguin
Daniel Paille-Gregory Campbell- Rich Peverley

Defense
Zdeno Chara-Dennis Seidenberg
Andrew Ference-Johnny Boychuk
Tomas Kaberle-Adam McQuaid

Goalies
Tim Thomas
Tuukka Rask

Scratches: Shawn Thornton, Shane Hnidy, Steven Kampfer, Matt Bartkowski, Jordan Caron, Jamie Arniel, Trent Whitfield, Anton Khudobin

Projected Lightning lines

Forwards
Ryan Malone-Steven Stamkos-Martin St. Louis
Simon Gagne-Vincent Lecavalier-Teddy Purcell
Sean Bergenheim-Dominic Moore-Steve Downie
Blair Jones-Nate Thompson-Adam Hall

Defense
Eric Brewer-Mattias Ohlund
Victor Hedman-Brett Clark
Mike Lundin-Marc-Andre Bergeron

Goalies
Dwayne Roloson
Mike Smith

Scratches: Pavel Kubina (upper body), Dana Tyrell, Randy Jones, Mattias Ritola, Mathieu Roy, Matt Smaby, Marc-Andre Pouliot, Mike Angelidis, Dustin Tokarski

Julien and the Bruins are still awaiting word from the medical staff about the status of injured center Patrice Bergeron for Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final against the Lightning at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa.

The Bruins will welcome back their top two-way forward with open arms, but Julien will then have to make the difficult choice on who to sit out to make room for Bergeron in the lineup. Julien made it clear on Wednesday that Tyler Seguin won't be heading back to the press box any time soon after putting up 3-3-6 totals in his first two career playoff games when he was inserted into the lineup with Bergeron out.

With Michael Ryder also catching fire of late with 2-2-4 in two games playing on a line with Seguin, the options to sit likely come down to either Shawn Thornton or Daniel Paille, with Paille's role on the penalty kill probably too valuable to spare.

Regardless of whoever eventually sits, whether on Thursday or later in the series if Bergeron remains out for Game 3, Julien can take solace that it isn't likely to cause any problems in the room with the character on this team. But Julien also wants to see whoever is scratched remain hungry to get back into the lineup, as they will almost certainly be called upon again this postseason.

"Well I don't think I want them to accept it," Julien said. "I think I just want them to understand it. A guy who accepts that is not what I want to see. Everybody wants to play. I think what has to happen is he needs to understand, and whoever that may be [sitting out], it's about the team right now and through a long series you see changes all the time. And the best thing, whoever that player ends up being has to be ready to jump into the lineup when he's called upon. And that's been the case since Day 1 anyway. That hasn't changed."

Other than Bergeron's possible return, there shouldn't be any other changes for the Bruins in Game 3. Milan Lucic, who took a slap shot from Seguin off the right foot in practice on Monday, was the only Bruin not present for the morning skate as even Mark Recchi eschewed his usual veteran's prerogative to skip the skate and took part, but Julien said Lucic would be fine for the game.

"No issues, he's going to be in [Thursday night]," Julien said. "And as you know during playoffs, there are certain things you do and give guys time off for whatever reasons. He's going to be there and there won't be any excuses to his game at all and you've seen Recchi miss at times. Recchi [Thursday] morning wanted to go on so there is very minor issues when it comes to that."

Julien also noted that defenseman Steven Kampfer, working his way back from a knee injury, was close to being ready to play if needed, though he'll likely only be called upon if there is another injury on the blue line.

"He's pretty close I think," Julien said. "I just talked to him after practice there. We had a little bit of a chat on the ice and talked about what he's been through the last little while and how he's felt and everything else. So I think he's getting pretty close to that. So if anything I think pretty soon we'll be able to say he's a guy that could jump in if something happened."

The Lightning may get one of their injured players back as well. Forward Dana Tyrell, who has missed the last nine games with a foot injury, skated with the club Thursday morning and was no longer sporting a red no-contact jersey. He could be back in the lineup for Game 3, but defenseman Pavel Kubina, out with a head injury, is not ready to return.

"Kubina won't be playing [Thursday night] and Tyrell is ready to go, so we'll make a decision after the warm-up," Tampa coach Guy Boucher said. "Kubina right now we're going to wait."

If Tyrell does play, Boucher will have some decisions to make with his lineup. The Lightning have gone with just 11 forwards in the first two games, opting to dress an extra defenseman. They could scratch another forward and continue that non-traditional roster breakdown, or they could scratch a defenseman, most likely Randy Jones, and go with the traditional 12-forward, six-defensemen setup.

Projected Bruins lines

Forwards
Milan Lucic-David Krejci-Nathan Horton
Brad Marchand- Rich Peverley-Mark Recchi
Michael Ryder- Chris Kelly-Tyler Seguin
Daniel Paille-Gregory Campbell-Shawn Thornton

Defense
Zdeno Chara-Dennis Seidenberg
Andrew Ference-Johnny Boychuk
Tomas Kaberle-Adam McQuaid

Goalies
Tim Thomas
Tuukka Rask

Scratches: Patrice Bergeron (concussion), Shane Hnidy, Steven Kampfer (knee), Matt Bartkowski, Jordan Caron, Jamie Arniel, Trent Whitfield, Anton Khudobin

Projected Lightning lines

Forwards
Ryan Malone-Steven Stamkos-Martin St. Louis
Simon Gagne-Vincent Lecavalier-Teddy Purcell
Sean Bergenheim-Dominic Moore-Steve Downie
Nate Thompson-Adam Hall

Defense
Eric Brewer-Mattias Ohlund
Victor Hedman-Brett Clark
Mike Lundin-Randy Jones
Marc-Andre Bergeron

Goalies
Dwayne Roloson
Mike Smith

Scratches: Pavel Kubina (upper body), Dana Tyrell (foot), Blair Jones, Mattias Ritola, Mathieu Roy, Matt Smaby, Marc-Andre Pouliot, Mike Angelidis, Dustin Tokarski

But even if Bergeron remains sidelined, the Bruins’ lineup will have a bit of a new look. Coach Claude Julien switched the centers of his second and third line in practice on Monday, and plans to open the night with the new combinations.

That puts Rich Peverley in Bergeron’s spot on the second line between Brad Marchand and Mark Recchi, while Chris Kelly, who played there in Game 1, moves down to the third line with Michael Ryder and Tyler Seguin. At least that’s how things will start if Bergeron can’t play, but Julien may continue his tinkering in game if the new combos don’t click quickly.

“It’s hard to say,” Julien said after Tuesday’s morning skate. “I mean you try something and if it works you keep it that way. If it doesn’t you got to make changes. Those are all things that you have to do in the course of a game and I can’t stand here and say it’s set in stone. I think we’ll do the best we can here to put the best lineup and the best lines together.”

The best lineup would obviously include Bergeron, but he is still recovering from a concussion suffered in the final game of Boston’s second-round sweep of Philadelphia. Bergeron did return to practice on Monday and participated in Tuesday’s morning skate, but has not yet faced any contact in those workouts.

Julien has been tight-lipped about who would come out of the lineup whenever Bergeron does return. Seguin was a healthy scratch throughout the first two rounds, but had a goal and an assist in his playoff debut in Saturday’s 5-2 loss in Game 1 of this series. Shawn Thornton, Daniel Paille or even a slumping Michael Ryder could be other possibilities to sit out.

The Bruins won’t have any such decisions to make on the blue line, where Adam McQuaid returned in Game 1 after missing two games with a sprained neck. Steven Kampfer is close to being ready to play as well, as he works his way back from a knee injury, though he will likely only see action if another blueliner is injured.

“We’re still working on his conditioning, but certainly he’s getting close,” Julien said of Kampfer, a rookie who was injured while playing for the club’s AHL affiliate in Providence in April.

Tampa Bay isn’t expected to make any lineup changes either. They got forward Simon Gagne back in Game 1, but defenseman Pavel Kubina (head injury) remains sidelined indefinitely and his prognosis does not look good as he remains back in Tampa.

“He’s not with us,” Tampa coach Guy Boucher said. “He’s not even here, so the update is not very good. Every day when there seems to be a little progression, it kind of slips back a bit. So it’s kind of an injury that you never know. You wake up the next day and everything’s great or just keeps on going the same way, so it’s very hard to monitor what’s going on with him.

“Obviously we’re missing him,” Boucher added. “He’s got size. He’s got some offensive abilities on our second power play, he made a big difference on it. But right now we’ve adapted. [Marc-Andre] Bergeron‘s kind of taken the lead on that power play with [Teddy] Purcell.”

Projected Bruins lines

Forwards
Milan Lucic-David Krejci-Nathan Horton
Brad Marchand- Rich Peverley-Mark Recchi
Michael Ryder- Chris Kelly-Tyler Seguin
Daniel Paille-Gregory Campbell-Shawn Thornton

Defense
Zdeno Chara-Dennis Seidenberg
Andrew Ference-Johnny Boychuk
Tomas Kaberle-Adam McQuaid

Goalies
Tim Thomas
Tuukka Rask

Scratches: Patrice Bergeron (concussion), Shane Hnidy, Steven Kampfer (knee), Matt Bartkowski, Jordan Caron, Jamie Arniel, Trent Whitfield, Anton Khudobin

Projected Lightning lines

Forwards
Ryan Malone-Steven Stamkos-Martin St. Louis
Simon Gagne-Vincent Lecavalier-Teddy Purcell
Sean Bergenheim-Dominic Moore-Steve Downie
Nate Thompson-Adam Hall

Defense
Eric Brewer-Mattias Ohlund
Victor Hedman-Brett Clark
Mike Lundin-Randy Jones
Marc-Andre Bergeron

Goalies
Dwayne Roloson
Mike Smith

Scratches: Pavel Kubina (upper body), Dana Tyrell (foot), Blair Jones, Mattias Ritola, Mathieu Roy, Matt Smaby, Mrc-Andre Pouliot, Mike Angelidis, Dustin Tokarski

The Bruins are trying to keep the inevitable mentions of last year's devastating loss to a minimum and focus on starting a new chapter this spring as they open their rematch with Philadelphia in the Eastern Conference semifinals on Saturday. But they will also try to get some motivation out of the painful memory of last year's squandering of a 3-0 lead on Philadelphia as they head into the rematch. The Flyers, meanwhile, will use the memory of how they overcame that deficit to their benefit in hopes of continuing Boston's playoff struggles.

The Bruins haven't made it past the second round since 1992. So how do the Bruins stack up against the Flyers in their quest to end that drought this year? Here's the Tale of the Tape.

Offense
The Bruins won't have an easy time stopping the Flyers, who boast a deep and talented corps of forwards with threats throughout the lineup. Philadelphia had seven players with 20-plus goals in the regular season, led by Jeff Carter's 36 and Danny Briere's 34. Carter suffered a lower-body injury against Buffalo and missed the final three games, but could return at some point in this series. Briere lived up to his reputation as a clutch playoff performer with an NHL-leading six goals in the first round, while Claude Giroux added a team-high nine points. With the likes of Mike Richards, James van Riemsdyk (4 goals vs. Buffalo), Kris Versteeg, Ville Leino, Scott Hartnell and Nikolay Zherdev, the Flyers will present a challenge to the Bruins' defense no matter which line is on the ice.

The Bruins also have a balanced attack and got solid production out of their second and third lines against Montreal, with Patrice Bergeron leading the team with seven points and Chris Kelly providing a surprise spark with 3-3-6 totals. Eight different forwards had a goal against Montreal, and that didn't include Milan Lucic, who led the team with 30 goals in the regular season. The Bruins need him and David Krejci, who had just one point vs. Montreal after leading the club with 62 in the regular season, to step up their production in this round to be able to compete with the Flyers' firepower. Nathan Horton did come through in his first playoff series, scoring three goals, including a pair of overtime winners, the second the series clincher in Game 7.

Advantage: Flyers

Defense
The Bruins have a stable top six led by Norris Trophy finalist Zdeno Chara, who appears to have recovered from the dehydration issues that sidelined him for Game 2 of the Montreal series. Upon his return, Claude Julien reshuffled the defense pairings and seemingly hit upon a solid combination with Dennis Seidenberg moving up alongside Chara. Seidenberg logged huge minutes, playing solid defense and even chipping in offensively. Andrew Ference and Johnny Boychuk also provided strong two-way play and Adam McQuaid even showed an ability to jump up into the play when needed, as he showed on the play that led to Horton's Game 7 OT winner. The weak link has been Tomas Kaberle, who hasn't provided the help on the power play the Bruins hoped for when they acquired him and has been an adventure at times in his own zone.

The Flyers have a deep and solid defense of their own, led by Chris Pronger. Pronger missed the final 16 games of the regular season and the first five of the Buffalo series, but his return in Game 6 helped Philadelphia rally to win the final two games. If he is anywhere close to full strength, that defense will pose a huge challenge to the Bruins. Beyond Pronger, the Flyers have a strong blue line with Andrej Meszaros, Braydon Coburn, Kimmo Timonen, Matt Carle and Sean O'Donnell.

Advantage: Chara is healthier than Pronger, giving the Bruins the slimmest of edges in this category.

Goaltending
Tim Thoma­­­s was named a Vezina finalist after posting 35-11-9 record with a league-leading 2.00 GAA, an NHL-record .938 save percentage and nine shutouts in the regular season. After some shaky moments early in the Montreal series, he quickly showed he could be just as effective in the postseason. Thomas had a 2.25 GAA and a .926 save percentage in the series, saving his best for a pair of overtime thrillers as he stopped 44 of 45 shots he faced in a 2-1 double-OT win in Game 5 and had another 34 saves in the Bruins 4-3 overtime win in Game 7.

Philadelphia needed three different goalies to get through their opening round series with Buffalo, the first team to win a series with three starting netminders since 1988. Brian Boucher (4-1, 2.10 GAA, .934 save percentage) came on strong after Sergei Bobrovsky and Michael Leighton faltered, but can Boucher keep that level of play up for another series?

Advantage: Bruins 

Special teams
After leading the league in 5-on-5 scoring with 177 goals in the regular season, the Bruins continued to dominate play at even strength against the Canadiens. But their already not-so-special special teams struggled even more. Boston failed to convert a single power play despite getting 21 opportunities. They are now just 7-of-87 (8.0 percent) in 31 games with Kaberle in the lineup. The penalty kill fared better, at least while they were just one man shot. Montreal had six goals on 27 chances, but two of them came on 5-on-3 advantages in Game 6.

The Flyers weren't a whole lot better with the man-advantage until Pronger returned. They were just 2-of-26 on the power play in the first five games against Buffalo, but went 3-of-9 in Games 6 and 7 after Pronger came back. Buffalo did strike for seven goals on 31 chances in the series, but Boston held Philadelphia without a power-play goal on seven chances in four regular-season meetings this year. The Bruins were also 4-of-12 on the power play themselves against the Flyers, so there is some hope for the club's beleaguered special teams units.

Advantage: Flyers

Coaching
Claude Julien once again proved a tough out in the opening round, winning a first-round series for the third straight year. But he has never led a team past the second round, losing at that point in the last two years with Boston and in 2004 with Montreal — after beating the Bruins in the opening round.

Philadelphia counterpart Peter Laviolette had a similar struggle early in his NHL coaching career, losing in the first round in each of his first two appearances with the Islanders. He's done a bit better since, guiding Carolina to the Cup in 2006 and Philadelphia to the finals last year. He also won the Calder Cup in the AHL, coaching the Bruins' affiliate in Providence to a championship in 1999.

Advantage: Flyers

Intangibles
There are a number of additional factors that could sway this series. The biggest is how the clubs handle the lingering effects of last year's matchup. Will the Bruins use that collapse as motivation to exorcise those demons and finally get over the hump in the playoffs? Or will it get into their heads if they find themselves ahead in the series again? One thing's for certain, the Flyers certainly won't be daunted if they fall behind after having proved they can rally from the most desperate of situations. The Bruins showed similar character in the opening round, bouncing back after losing the first two games at home against Montreal.

The Bruins also come into this series healthy, while Philadelphia has Pronger banged up and Carter out at least to start the series. Both teams are coming off long seven-game series, so there won't be an edge either way with a team being more rested. The Flyers do have home ice, but the Bruins have excelled on the road, winning two games in Montreal in the first round, while the Flyers lost two of their four games in Philadelphia against the Sabres.

Advantage: Even

Overall
This is about as even a matchup as possible. The one thing that seems certain is that it's not likely to be over quick. Both teams survived seven-game marathons in the opening round, and they look destined to go the distance again. It won't be a shock to see either of these teams advance to the conference finals, but the Bruins got over one hurdle by winning a Game 7 against Montreal, now it's time to make an even bigger leap by getting out of the second round. If Pronger is close to his normal self and Carter returns in the series, Philly could easily upset those plans. But this one won't be a collapse by the Bruins. The Flyers will have to earn it, and the call here is that the Bruins won't let that happen again.

 Prediction: Bruins in 7.

They had four chances to do it last year against Philadelphia and failed each time, eventually falling in seven games after taking a 3-0 lead in the series.

So they won't be taking any solace in the fact that they have two cracks at eliminating the Canadiens this year after building a 3-2 series lead with a 2-1 double-overtime win in Game 5 on Saturday.

They want to end this Tuesday in Game 6 in Montreal. A loss would force a potential Game 7 back in Boston less than 24 hours later on Wednesday, leaving little time to regroup and stem Montreal's momentum from the previous night.

But the Bruins aren't worrying about a possible Game 7. Their focus is strictly on Tuesday's Game 6, and a victory in that one will make the issues of playing two high-intense, pressure-packed games in two nights a moot point.

"I guess as a team right now, we're not thinking about Game 7, we're thinking about Game 6," Bruins coach Claude Julien said after practice Monday at the Garden before the Bruins departed for Montreal. "And that is what is on our mind. That is what should be on our mind. And we realize how important it is to come play probably our best game of the series. And that's basically where our focus is right now.

"Just to talk about something else right now I don't think is the right approach," Julien added when asked if avoiding having to play on back-to-back nights made it more important to close out the series in Game 6. "It's also a waste of energy and time. We have to focus on the moment. And you hear a lot of coaches and you hear a lot of players talking about the moment, and that's what he have to focus on is the moment, and the moment is [Tuesday], us being ready to play Game 6."

Game 6 will be back in the Bell Centre, where the Bruins will again face a rabid crowd and a desperate Montreal club that is usually tough to beat on home ice. But the Bruins have been a better road team all season, and that has held true this series with Boston winning Games 3 and 4 in Montreal after dropping the first two at home.

"Well we know what the crowd is like, we know how good they are at home, we know how they come out with a lot of jump, and we understand that whole situation," Julien said. "And I think we've done a pretty good job of handling it in Games 3 and 4 and it's going to be even more important again to understand that and be ready for it. And as I mentioned earlier, it goes back again to what I said, our determination has got to be there because they're going to come out with some desperation. They're going to come out hard and we have to be ready for that and we got to be ready to push back."

The Bruins know all too well what happens if they don't push back. The Flyers showed them last year how quickly the complexion of a series can change. And this year Boston has even less margin of error to play with.

But the Bruins also insist they've learned from last year's disastrous finish, and aren't about to let another series get away from them.
 
"Every year, every playoffs, is different," Bruins captain Zdeno Chara said. "You see some similarities, teams coming back from being down 3-0, coming back to even the series. But every year is different, and we all know the importance of [Tuesday's game]. For sure, it's a huge game and we have to bring our best.

"It's back-to-back, so for sure it's important [to win Game 6]," Chara added. "It's not like you're saving anything for Game 7. You have to play all out in Game 6 just like any other game and work extremely hard and play for 60 [minutes]. You can't be going into Game 6 thinking I have to save something for the next day."

Game 3 on Monday will be vital to that cause, as the Bruins can’t afford to fall into a 3-0 hole.

They could get some help on the blue line, a captain Zdeno Chara participated in the morning skate after missing Game 2 on Saturday following a bout of dehydration that forced him to be hospitalized on Friday. Bruins coach Claude Julien wouldn’t declare that Chara will definitely be in the lineup, but did state that it was “looking good.”

Chara’s return would send Shane Hnidy back to the press box. Judging from the line combinations in use at the morning skate, it doesn’t appear that any other lineup changes are planned.

Tim Thomas was the first goalie off the ice in the morning, traditionally the indication that he would be starting that night. Postseason gamesmanship can sometimes alter those routines, but all appearances point to Chara’s likely return being the only change for the Bruins.

Julien made sure not to tip his hand on any of those decisions. On Sunday, he cited Philadelphia coach Peter Laviolette‘s postseason policy of not discussing lineup decisions, goaltenders or injuries as one he would also adopt. Laviolette broke from that stand earlier on Monday, but Julien held firm when asked about any possible lineup changes.
 
“Yeah, I think I have the option of which page I want to take out of Peter Laviolette’s book,” Julien said. “I liked the pages the other day, but I didn’t like this morning’s page. Is that OK?”

One possible change would be the insertion of rookie Tyler Seguin back into the lineup, but Seguin skated with fellow “Black Aces” Jordan Caron and Jamie Arniel in what amounted to Boston’s fifth line in the morning skate. The rest of the line combinations remained unchanged from the first two games.

Montreal may have some changes though, as injured forwards Andrei Kostitsyn and Jeff Halpern could return. Both players skated Monday morning and will be game-time decisions. Kostitsyn missed Game 2 after blocking a Chara shot in the first game, while Halpern has been out since late in the regular season with a lower-body injury.

“Jeff’s close, probably a decision [that will be] made after warm-ups,” Montreal coach Jacques Martin said.

Martin also noted that he won’t hesitate to switch up his lineup if both forwards are ready to go, as he’s not concerned with maintaining the same lineup if better players are available just because the Habs have won the first two games.

“Every game is different,” Martin said. “You look at your lineup and you want to dress the best possible lineup every night.”

Projected Bruins lines

Forwards
Milan Lucic-David Krejci-Nathan Horton
Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-Mark Recchi
Chris Kelly-Rich Peverley-Michael Ryder
Daniel Paille-Greg Campbell-Shawn Thornton

Defense
Zdeno Chara-Johnny Boychuk
Tomas Kaberle- Dennis Seidenberg
Andrew Ference-Adam McQuaid

Goalies
Tim Thomas
Tuukka Rask

Scratches: Tyler Seguin, Shane Hnidy, Matt Bartkowski, Jordan Caron, Jamie Arniel, Anton Khudobin

Projected Canadiens lines

Forwards
Michael Cammalleri-Tomas Plekanec-Andrei Kostitsyn
Mathieu Darche-Scott Gomez-Brian Gionta
Travis Moen-Lars Eller-Tom Pyatt
Benoit Pouliot-David Desharnais- Ryan White

Defense
Romas Hamrlik-James Wisniewski
Hal Gill-P.K. Subban
Jaroslav Spacek-Brent Sopel

Goalies
Carey Price
Alex Auld

Scratches: Paul Mara, Yannick Weber, Jeff Halpern (lower body), Alexandre Picard (lower body)

Montreal has prevailed in 24 of the previous meeting, but Boston swept the Habs in their last meeting in 2009. Which side of the rivalry will earn the bragging rights this season? Here's the Tale of the Tape.

Offense
Somewhat surprisingly based on past history, the Bruins have a decided advantage here, at least while the teams are playing 5 on 5. After finishing dead last in scoring last season, the Bruins rose to fifth this year with 2.98 goals a game. Montreal ranked just 22nd at 2.60. The Bruins had the only 30-goal scorer between the two teams with Milan Lucic and the only 60-point scorers with Lucic and David Krejci, who each finished with 62 points. Boston also had the superior depth and a more balanced attack with 14 players scoring 10 or more goals, compared to nine for the Canadiens.

Montreal does have some dangerous weapons in Tomas Plekanec (22-35-57), Michael Cammalleri (19-28-47), Brian Gionta (29-17-46) and Andrei Kostitsyn (20-25-45) up front, plus some help from the back end with P.K. Subban (14-24-38). But the Bruins have gotten production out of all four lines and both the Lucic-Krejci-Nathan Horton and Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-Mark Recchi line have proven capable of carrying the offense for extended stretches this season.

Advantage: Bruins

Defense
The Bruins have a stable top six led by Norris Trophy candidate Zdeno Chara. After plenty of mixing and matching all season long, Boston has seemingly found three solid combinations with Chara paired with Johnny Boychuk, Tomas Kaberle with Dennis Seidenberg and Andrew Ference with Adam McQuaid. Boychuk struggled early but came on strong late in the year, helped no doubt by playing alongside Chara, whose own play spiked after his controversial hit on Montreal's Max Paciorettty. Kaberle can be an adventure in his own zone at times, but he's a helped in the transition game and having a shot-blocking machine like Seidenberg (174 blocked shots) limits the damage he can do in the defensive end. McQuaid struggled a bit late in the season, but has added a needed physical presence and even some offense (3-12-15), while Ference is an underrated steadying force.

The Canadiens have lost Andrei Markov and Josh Gorges for the year with knee injuries, but Jaroslav Spacek did return for the final two games of the regular season after missing 23 games with a knee injury of his own. His return will help, and Subban is an offensive threat who can throw some big hits (just ask Marchand). James Wisniewski and Roman Hamrlik add some additional experience, while former Bruin defenseman Hal Gill has proven effective in a shutdown role. But with veteran journeymen like Paul Mara, Brent Sopel and Alexandre Picard rounding out the blue-line corps, this isn't an especially imposing unit.

Adavantage: Bruins

Goaltending
This is the strength of both teams. Tim Thomas posted a 35-11-9 record with a league-leading 2.00 GAA, an NHL-record .938 save percentage and nine shutouts. He's the prohibitive favorite to win his second Vezina Trophy in the last three years. Montreal's Carey Price could be a finalist as well after going 38-28-6 with a 2.35 GAA, .923 save percentage and eight shutouts.

Thomas has had his struggles against the Habs, though, with a 10-14-4 record, 3.05 GAA and .906 save percentage against the Canadiens in his career. He was actually 2-1-1 against Montreal this year with his first career shutout of the Canadiens, and was 4-0 with 1.50 GAA and .946 save percentage in a first-round sweep of the Habs in 2009. Price is 13-4-2 with a 2.72 GAA and a .915 save percentage against the Bruins in the regular season, but took all four of those losses in that 2009 playoff sweep. He had two shutouts in Montreal's seven-game triumph in 2008, but also allowed five goals in two games that series. Overall, he's 4-7 with a 2.77 GAA and a .907 save percentage against Boston in the postseason.

Advantage: Bruins 

Special teams
The Bruins were first in the league in 5-on-5 scoring with 177 goals. The Canadiens were 26th with 137. But if Montreal can get enough of this series played on special teams, the scales become tipped decidedly in their favor. Montreal was seventh in the NHL this year on both the power play (57-290, 19.7 percent) and the penalty kill (51-327, 84.4 percent). The Bruins were just 20th on the power play (43-265, 16.2 percent) and 16th on the penalty kill (46-265, 82.6 percent). Boston was shorthanded the fourth-fewest times in the league and was tied for fourth with 11 shorthanded goals, while Montreal was shorthanded more times than any other team in the league. The Bruins might not be able to take advantage of that though, as they ranked just 27th in power-play opportunities.

In the six head-to-head matchups, special teams played a huge role. The Habs were 9-of-28 on the power play (32.1 percent), while Boston was just 3-of-24 (12.5 percent). Montreal averaged just 3.53 power-play chances a game over the full season, but that number jumped to 4.67 a game against the Bruins. Boston can't afford to spend that much time in the box in this series.

Advantage: Canadiens

Coaching
Claude Julien has guided the Bruins to the postseason in each of his four seasons behind the Boston bench, and got the team past the first round in back-to-back years for the first time since 1993 and 1994. He's never lead a team beyond the second round, with a 3-4 series record and 21-21 game record in the playoffs, but he's only lost once in the opening round and even then his eighth-seeded Bruins pushed top-seed Montreal to seven games in 2008. Montreal coach Jacques Martin has gotten to a conference final twice, with Ottawa in 2002-03 and Montreal last year. But he's never reached the Cup final and is 7-11 in series and 47-57 in playoff games in 15 seasons with St. Louis, Ottawa, Florida and Montreal, falling five times in the opening round.

Advantage: Bruins

Intangibles
There are a number of additional factors that could sway this series. The Canadiens have an edge in playoff experience, with Cup winners Scott Gomez, Gionta, Travis Moen, Gill and Sopel, plus the nucleus of last year's conference finalist squad. Boston does have two players with rings in Recchi and Shawn Thornton, but they also have Horton, Greg Campbell, Marchand and Tyler Seguin who have never played in an NHL playoff game and Kaberle whose last postseason appearance was back in 2004.

The Bruins do have a decided advantage in size, toughness and grit, and will need to impose their physical style of play on this series. History favors the Habs, though the freshest memories are positive ones for Boston, with the Bruins sweeping the last playoff series two years ago and winning the final meeting this season 7-0. Boston also has an advantage in health, with only Marc Savard, who was never a factor this season, and depth defenseman Steven Kampfer injured going into the series. Montreal is without Markov and Gorges on the blue line and Pacioretty up front.

The Bruins also hold home ice for the series. That hasn't been a huge advantage for them this year, as they were just 14th in the league with a 22-13-6 record at home. But they were 7-1-3 in their last 11 home games and won the last two meetings with the Habs at the Garden. Montreal was far more dependent on home cooking, going 24-11-6 at the Bell Centre (6th best home mark in league) and just 20-19-2 on the road (19th). The Bruins were fifth in the league on the road (24-12-5), but were 0-2-1 at Montreal. Both barns should be loud and hostile with the fervent fan bases of both cities and the bad blood between the clubs, but that intensity could play into the Bruins' hands as Boston usually performs best when emotionally involved.

Advantage: Bruins

Overall
On paper, this should be the Bruins' series. They are the deeper and better team and beat out Montreal for the division title for a reason. But the Habs did win the head-to-head series and past history shows anything can happen when rivals like this clash. The feeling here is the Bruins should prevail, but the longer the series goes, the more likely the Canadiens will spring the upset.

Prediction: Bruins in 5.

That doesn't mean he can't still enjoy sticking it to the other organizations that left him spending the bulk of his first 10 professional seasons down in the American Hockey League. That includes Tuesday's opponent.

The Chicago Blackhawks make their lone visit to the Garden, and Thornton will enjoy the chance to catch up with some familiar faces from the five years he spent in Chicago's organization from 2001-06.

"It's always a little bit extra when you get to play against a team you used to be a part of," Thornton said. "I know a lot of those guys. I played in the minors with a lot of those guys. I still talk to their assistant coach [Mike Haviland] who was my head coach in Norfolk [Chicago's AHL affiliate at the time]. So there's a little bit more. I always get excited to play those guys."

After being drafted by the Maple Leafs in the seventh round of the 1997 draft, Thornton spent his first four seasons with Toronto's AHL affiliate in St. John's without ever getting called up to the big club. So he appreciated getting his first NHL time with the Blackhawks, though it amounted to just a total of 31 games in Chicago over his five seasons in that system.

"I got my first break with them," Thornton said. "I spent a lot of time going up and down, a lot of cups of coffee, up and down with them. So I always like to play against teams I used to play for."

Thornton got the last laugh when he signed with Anaheim as a free agent in 2006 and won a Stanley Cup with the Ducks the following spring. That summer, he signed with Boston and hasn't spent a day in the AHL since, posting career-best 9-9-18 totals so far this season to go along with his usual team-leading 122 penalty minutes and 14 fighting majors.

The Blackhawks have done all right since Thornton left, too, ending their 49-year title drought by winning the Cup this past spring. They've struggled a bit this season after salary-cap issues forced them to jettison much of their championship squad over the summer, but a strong nucleus remains. Thornton knows the Blackhawks will still be a tough challenge for the Bruins.

"You can't take it away from them," Thornton said. "Obviously they have guys who know how to win. It's not an easy thing to do, so it's still a part of their team, that's for sure."

Facing Chicago could also be a good measuring stick for the Bruins as they get ready for this year's playoffs after clinching a spot with Sunday's win in Philadelphia.

"I'm more worried about us in here, but they're definitely still a good team," Thornton said. "Any time you play a good team, you're testing yourselves a bit I suppose."

Other than his one season in Anaheim, Thornton has spent his entire 14-year pro career in Original Six organizations with Toronto, Chicago and Boston. The Bruins are in the midst of a run of four straight home games against Original Six rivals, having hosted Montreal and the New York Rangers last week with Chicago and Toronto coming to town this week. Those are games that Thornton always looks forward to, even if he sometimes has to shut off his phone the day before to avoid the extra ticket requests.

"I like when you get to play an Original Six team," Thornton said. "I'm sure I'll be getting a lot of calls for tickets. People like to see those games when those teams come to town. It'll be fun."

The first meeting between the clubs since Zdeno Chara‘s hit on Max Pacioretty and the first clash on Boston ice since the Original Six rivals racked up 182 penalty minutes last month is sure to be a heated encounter. But the NHL wants to make sure it doesn’t get too heated.

Commissioner Gary Bettman reportedly spoke to Boston general manager Peter Chiarelli and Montreal counterpart Pierre Gauthier at last week’s GMs meeting to make sure things didn’t degenerate into too much of a melee in this matchup, and senior vice president and director of officiating Terry Gregson will also be on hand for the game to keep a watchful eye.

While neither team wants to be breaking any new penalty-minute records with the stakes as high as they are in this clash between clubs vying for the Northeast Division crown, the Bruins do have some concerns over how the increased scrutiny could affect their game.

Boston is a team that thrives on physical play and performs at its best when emotionally involved in games.

“I think being physical is part of our game,” said Bruins forward Milan Lucic, who leads Boston with 154 hits and scored his 30th goal in Tuesday’s 4-1 win over New Jersey. “I think our main focus is to build and continue what we did [Tuesday] night, and I think what we did [Tuesday] night was once we started to get harder on the forecheck and once we started to be physical we started to be more successful, and it was against a really stingy team. That’s what Montreal is too. They’ve been a tough team for us to score against.”

But will the officials allow the Bruins to play that physical style, or will veteran referees Dan O’Halloran and Dan O’Rourke call things so tightly that the Bruins can’t establish that sort of game without spending most of the night killing penalties?

“I hope not,” Lucic said. “Physicality is a part of this game. Being able to hit and forecheck and whatnot is a big part of our game and a big part of my game. We’re successful doing that and I don’t think we should shy away from that at all and I don’t think we’re going to.

“We can’t lose that edge,” he added. “Obviously it’s unfortunate that guy got hurt the way he did in a play that happens in hockey and a play we’ve seen so many times before. Obviously we’re happy to hear that he’s making a full recovery, but we can’t lose that edge. We still have to play physical.”

Still, Lucic admitted that he expects the refs to be keeping a tight lid on this one, though that might not prevent some nastiness from breaking out.

“I think they’ll be watching for sure,” Lucic said. “It’s always exciting to see the Bruins and Canadiens play. Look at the last home game we played against them, obviously there was a lot of stuff going on. Who’s to say a lot of the same stuff won’t be going on [Thursday]? I think they’re looking at every game for something to happen. But for ourselves we just have to focus on ourselves and do whatever we need to do to win. They’ve been a tough opponent for us this year. We’re not happy only winning one of the first five games and we want to end this series on a good note.”

Boston has struggled mightily against the Habs this season, going 1-3-1 in the first five meetings. Even that victory raised some concerns, as the Bruins still gave up six goals amid the non-stop parade to the penalty box. So what has made the Canadiens such a tough matchup for the Bruins?

“They play us hard and they have a good system,” Bruins defenseman Andrew Ference said. “They have a lot of quick players and a good goalie. They have the ingredients to be a tough team to play against and they have shown up really well against us.

“I don’t think it’s any big mystery or anything like that,” Ference added. “They’ve just played better than us.”

And what’s the solution to counter that?

“Play as good as you can, put your best product on the ice and see what shakes out,” Ference said. “And you hope that your players and your system when done correctly is better than the other team’s. That’s what it comes down to.”

Boston’s system depends on playing an aggressive style. The Bruins need to stick to that and punish the smaller Habs with clean hits and a physical forecheck. But they also need to be allowed to play that way without fear of the officials taking control of the game.

Despite the bad blood of past encounters, the significance of this game in the division race is likely to put any thoughts of retribution on hold. Hopefully the Bruins and Habs will both be able to play to their strengths within the rules and see which style of play will prevail without undo interference from the refs.

“Everyone talks about revenge and what’s going to happen and the buildup,” Lucic said. “But I’m sure [the Canadiens] are saying the most important thing is for them to get the two points and that’s our focus right now too. They’re right behind us in the standings and that’s the only thing in mind, to create more of a separation between us and them.”

The rookie defenseman hails from Jackson, Mich., and graduated from the University of Michigan in 2010. That makes Tuesday's trip into the heart of Ohio State country when the Bruins take on the Columbus Blue Jackets an interesting journey for Kampfer.

He heads to Ohio wearing enemy colors again, but Black and Gold don't rile up the locals quite like Maize and Blue, and Kampfer will have some supporters on hand as well. He expects several family members and friends to make the trip down from Michigan, and he even has some relatives who crossed over in the border war and became Buckeyes. It all adds up to make this a very different trip to Columbus than what he experienced the previous four years as a Wolverine.

"I guess it will be," Kampfer said after practice Monday before the team departed. "It's different because I had family that went to Ohio State, so I'm kind of torn there when it comes to everything, but I bleed Maize and Blue."

Kampfer's allegiance to Michigan goes beyond hockey. He's a Michigan hoops fan too, even if the university's most memorable teams in that sport came when the 22-year-old was still a toddler.

"I loved that Fab Five documentary that was on [Sunday] night," Kampfer said of the ESPN 30 for 30 film on the five standout freshmen who took Michigan to back-to-back Final Fours in 1992 and 1993. "It was a classic. I was too young to remember when the Fab Five was going but even now I have a friend who was a Duke fan and I used to hate it when he would talk about it. So I feel like if you grow up a Michigan fan you hate Duke and you hate Ohio State."

Kampfer doesn't hate everything about Ohio State though. One of his oldest friends played hockey there, and he's looking forward to a chance to catch up with her during this trip.

"I know a girl I grew up playing hockey with that played at Ohio State," Kampfer said. "She graduated last year but she's in town. So I'm definitely going to see her and catch up. We've been friends since we were about 4."

Rachel Davis grew up and attended high school with Kampfer before going to Ohio State, where she played defense on the women's hockey team and served as a captain as a senior in 2009-10.

"She was a heck of a hockey player," Kampfer said. "It'll be fun to catch up with her. I haven't seen her in about a year, so it will be good to see her and have her at a game."

While the football and basketball rivalries between Michigan and Ohio State are as heated as any in the country, the hockey battles aren't quite as dramatic.

"It's not as big a rivalry as what people think in hockey," Kampfer said. "I wouldn't even say there's that many games that really stick out with those guys. I have more games that stick out in my memory with everybody else. But they always played us hard. They always played us physical. It was always a good game so it was definitely fun playing them."

It will also be fun for Kampfer to get a chance to play in front of some of his family. He hoped to do that even closer to home last month when over 40 family and friends came to see him play in Detroit on Feb. 13. But he was a healthy scratch for the first time that afternoon after playing 29 straight games following his recall from Providence.

Kampfer almost missed this chance as well, as he's been sidelined for the past four games with a concussion suffered against Tampa Bay on March 3. He returned to practice on Sunday and expects to be ready to return to game action on Tuesday, which could have some in the Kampfer clan scrambling to get down to Columbus on short notice.

"I think a couple people are [coming to the game]," Kampfer said. "I didn't really talk to anyone because of all the uncertainty with what was going on [with the concussion], but I think some of them will make it down."

They'd like to start another such roll there on Friday when they open a four-game road trip against the Islanders after dropping their third straight with a 4-3 overtime loss against Buffalo on Thursday.

"Might as well start another one," defenseman Johnny Boychuk said. "Why not?"

That last game on Long Island was also the final game before the Bruins added Tomas Kaberle, Chris Kelly and Rich Peverley to their lineup. Blake Wheeler actually opened the scoring with a goal 1:52 into the first in his final game as a Bruin, while Mark Stuart was a scratch the day before that pair was sent to Atlanta for Peverley.

That game against the Islanders also marked the start of the revival of Boston's top line. David Krejci, Milan Lucic and Nathan Horton combined for a pair of goals and five points in that 6-3 victory, and they haven't slowed down since.

Through Thursday's clash with the Sabres, that trio had 13-22-35 totals in the last 10 games, carrying a Bruins' offense that had scored just 28 total goals in that stretch, despite a 7-1-2 record.

Lucic's goal that night came on Boston's second power-play opportunity, as the Bruins finished the night 1-for-2 on the man advantage. Since that game, the Bruins have managed just one more power-play goal — on 24 chances. They are 0-for-19 in their last eight games.

Playing the Islanders should be a chance to get all aspects of the Bruins' game going again. Boston is 2-0-0 against New York this year with a 5-2 win at the Garden on Dec. 9 in addition to last month's 6-3 victory on Long Island.

The Islanders are well out of the playoff race after a horrid start to the season, but they've been one of the hottest teams in the league of late, so the Bruins can't take anything for granted. New York hasn't lost in regulation this month, going 3-0-2 in March.

Still, the Bruins are eager to get right back in action after Thursday's overtime loss.

"I think so. You don't want to dwell on it," forward Brad Marchand said. "You want to get right back at it as soon as possible and try to redeem yourself. We've had a few losses here in a row and we have to get back on the winning train. [Friday] is a great chance for us to do that. The Islanders are a tough team. We have to regroup and make sure we're ready for it."

Since a woeful 5-18-5 start, New York is a solid 21-14-5. There's young talent in the form of former No. 1 overall pick John Tavares (24-31-55 in 65 games), Matt Moulson (28-15-43 in 68 games) and surprising rookie Michael Grabner (27-14-41 in 64 games), while goalie Al Montoya has been a revelation.

Acquired from Phoenix for a sixth-round pack last month after Rick DiPietro suffered a broken orbital bone in an ill-advised fight with Pittsburgh's Brent Johnson, Montoya has gone 6-2-2 with a 2.02 GAA and a .927 save percentage.

The Islanders are also a tough team to play against. Even with tough guy Trevor Gillies suspended once again, they still have plenty of muscle in the lineup with Zenon Konopka (league-leading 239 penalty minutes, 21 fighting majors in 68 games), Matt Martin (108 PIMs, 10 fighting majors in 54 games) and recent call-up Michael Haley (59 PIMs, 3 fighting majors in 13 games). Konopka, who's 75 minutes ahead of second-place Steve Ott in the PIMs race, has dropped the gloves with Adam McQuaid in each of the first two meetings between the clubs this year.

The Bruins usually excel when things get physical. They're also a league-best 22-8-4 on the road. So while the Islanders aren't going to be a pushover, this matchup might be just what the Bruins need as they try to start another win streak when they open a four-game road trip on Friday.

"I hope so. We did a great job the last time we were in there to start off on the road," Marchand said, "and we've got to do it again, so hopefully we can start off on the right foot."

Zdeno Chara

Chara received no further discipline from the league for the hit that drove Canadiens forward Max Pacioretty into the partition between the benches late in the second period of Tuesday's game at the Bell Centre. Chara's night ended at that point as he was given an interference major and game misconduct for the play that left Pacioretty with a severe concussion and non-displaced fracture of his fourth cervical vertebrae.

The rest of the Bruins checked out much earlier in a listless 4-1 loss. It was the second straight loss for the club after a season-high seven-game win streak. Rather than closing in on the top spot in the Eastern Conference, the Bruins find themselves back in a dogfight for the Northeast Division lead with Montreal just three points behind them.

The Bruins will face another red-hot divisional rival on Thursday as they return home to host the Buffalo Sabres in need of a win to get back on track. And they'll have to make sure the Chara incident and ongoing controversy over the league's decision not to suspend him doesn't distract them from that task.

"We have to have our minds on the game [Thursday]," Bruins coach Claude Julien said. "I think that's the important thing here. We lost an overtime game here [against Pittsburgh on Saturday] and we lost [Tuesday] night. Before that we won seven in a row, so somehow we have to find a way to win hockey games again and get that good feeling and that confidence that we have. I think the guys still believe in it, but this where good teams have to bounce back and it takes one game to get you back on track. [Thursday] has to be that game."

To try to get things turned back in the right direction, Julien shuffled his lines in practice on Wednesday. He moved Mark Recchi down to the third line with Chris Kelly and Michael Ryder, with Rich Peverley replacing Recchi on the second line alongside Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand.

That move is designed to try to get those lines going as the top unit of David Krejci, Milan Lucic and Nathan Horton has been the only line scoring of late. That trio has 12 of the Bruins' 25 goals over the last nine games, combining for 32 points in that span.

Conversely, after a run of nearly two months of stellar production, Bergeron, Marchand and Recchi have gone quiet of late. Bergeron has no points in his last four games after 13-12-25 totals in the previous 22 games since the trio was put together on the club's last trip to Montreal on Jan. 8. Marchand has no goals and one assist in his last six games after 13-7-20 totals in his first 21 games on the line, and Recchi has no points in his last six games after 4-15-19 totals in the previous 21.

Meanwhile, newcomers Peverley and Kelly have shown flashes but little production since coming to Boston. Peverley has 1-1-2 totals in seven games as a Bruin, Kelly 0-2-2 in eight games. Ryder has also gone quiet of late, with 1-1-2 totals in his last nine games, playing primarily with Kelly and Peverley in that time.

"I don't think there's too much to make of it more than making a little tweak here or there," Julien said of the changes. "Right now we're getting Krejci's line producing for us, but the other two lines have been a little bit quiet. Sometimes tweaking it like that [can get them going]. And it could change halfway through the game [Thursday].

"Mark has good chemistry with Bergy and right now we've separated those two for no other reason than we think Mark can bring something to that other line and maybe Peverley can bring something to Bergeron's line," Julien added. "It's normal adjustments throughout the course of the year when you have a couple lines that aren't producing as much as they have been."

The Bruins need all of their lines to begin producing again, and fast. A return to form on Thursday against the Sabres with these tweaks would be a good start as Boston tries to retain its hold on the Northeast Division lead.

The Bruins and Canadiens added a new chapter to their hostile history when they last met. That game in Boston on Feb. 9 featured 14 goals, 12 fighting majors and 182 penalty minutes. It was also the Bruins' first win over Montreal in four tries this season.

So with the Bruins taking on the Habs for the first time since that eventful night, will there be more of the same Tuesday in Montreal?

"We'll see," said Bruins forward Milan Lucic, who had two goals, an assist and 16 PIMs in that 8-6 win on Feb. 9. "Time will tell. There's not much more you can say than we'll see from the drop of the puck how the emotions are going. We know the fans are going to be into it and we'll see how the game goes."

Most of the Bruins don't expect a repeat of last month's wild affair, with neither the nets nor the penalty boxes likely to be filled nearly as frequently.

"The points are important for both teams," Bruins center Greg Campbell said. "It's always a physical game [against Montreal]. That's how we have to play. But it's not something I don't think anybody in here focuses on whether it's going to be a carryover or not. For us it's about winning the game and I'm sure it's the same for them."

Campbell was the center of controversy in that last matchup, as he pounded out a one-sided decision against Tom Pyatt in a late line brawl. Pyatt was left a bloody mess and some in the Montreal media were outraged that Campbell continued to fire away after his elbow pad slipped down over his hand, as if Campbell could somehow have called timeout in the middle of the bout to adjust his equipment.

That fight, which coincided with Shawn Thornton and Johnny Boychuk hammering out wins over Roman Hamrlik and Jaroslav Spacek, respectively, has many expecting, or at least hoping, for more donnybrooks on Tuesday. But the Bruins don't anticipate another wild night of fights and brawls.

"Sometimes it's blown out of proportion," Campbell said. "I don't think those things are planned. Sometimes it just happens. They have a team where they have a few agitators. Whatever happened last game was just part of the game. It was a good game, back and forth, lot of intensity. I don't think anything is going to go on [Tuesday]."

What will happen Tuesday is a game with huge implications on the standings. The Bruins go into the night just two points back of Philadelphia for the top spot in the Eastern Conference. The Flyers host Edmonton on Tuesday, while Pittsburgh, which is tied in points with Boston after ending the Bruins' seven-game win streak on Saturday, hosts Buffalo.

Montreal is five points back of Boston in the Northeast Division. A Canadiens' win put them right back in the mix, but a regulation loss will create a seven-point gap that will be difficult to overcome with just over a month left in the season.

"I think from here on in they're all big games," Lucic said. "Obviously that's especially true [Tuesday] night. They're the ones behind us trying to catch us for the divisional lead. They're on a bit of a winning streak, so they've been playing well. It always seems every time we go in there they play a good hard game against us. So we're going to have to play hard, but most of all we're going to have to play smart."

The Bruins will have to avoid spending so much time in the penalty box this time around. They survived four power-play goals by Montreal in February's win, but aren't usually going to be that fortunate. The Canadiens have the eighth-ranked power play in the league with a 19.9-percent success rate, and Boston can't afford to them too many chances to use it.

"Discipline is a key to winning all the time," Bruins coach Claude Julien said. "They've got a pretty decent power play that you have to respect. They've got a team that seems to thrive on that kind of stuff. The good penalties we seem to kill, the bad penalties end up costing us at the end. So that's what you've got to do here, stay disciplined and make sure you stay out of the box or if you're going to go in there, [make sure it's] for the right reasons."

Those right reasons keep a sliver of hope alive for fight fans, as there's nothing wrong with going to the box if you're bringing someone with you. Julien even fanned the flames a bit by commenting on the Habs' penchant for inciting opponents, even when they lack the muscle to back up their antics.

"You have to turn the page and go game by game here," Julien said. "There was a lot of frustration the last time we played. Part of it was us sticking up for ourselves, and they have a tendency to want to try to stir the pot and look innocent in those situations. We know what it's all about and we've got to do what we have to do here, but the bottom line is at the end of the night you've got to come out with the win and you've got to be smart enough to do it."

Getting the two points is paramount. Cracking a few heads along the way is just a bonus, albeit a bonus that could reap long-term rewards.

"You look back at games like that and the Dallas game and it's just a great feeling knowing your teammates have your back," Lucic said. "I think that's what we've shown a lot this year and it creates that chemistry and brings that family feeling into the dressing room."

Boston and Tampa Bay come into this matchup with identical 37-19-7 records, and the winner will take over sole possession of second place in the Eastern Conference.

"It's obviously an important game with where the standings are," Bruins defenseman Adam McQuaid said after Boston's morning skate on Thursday. "The main thing for us is to focus on coming out with the same effort we've had lately. If we continue the way things are going, we give ourselves the best chance to win. We're not worried too, too much about putting pressure on ourselves that we can move ahead, but we know that's the case and hopefully we can come out with a good enough effort that will be the case at the end of the night."

The Bruins make their first appearance on TD Garden ice in more than two weeks in this one, but they come in as arguably the hottest team in the league after a perfect 6-0-0 road trip. Tampa Bay, meanwhile, had just an optional skate in the morning after dropping a 2-1 decision in New Jersey Wednesday night.

Neither that loss nor the 8-1 thumping the Bruins put on the Lightning the last time they visited back on Dec. 2 has the Bruins taking Tampa Bay lightly in this matchup.

"They're still a really explosive offensive team," Bruins defenseman Dennis Seidenberg said, and they've added some missing pieces that make them defensively stronger. But for us, it's the same game plan, getting pucks deep and putting pressure on the forecheck. In the defensive zone, it's just staying tight and not giving their skill guys a lot of time or room to make plays."

The latter is especially important against an offense led by Steven Stamkos (41-37-78) and Martin St. Louis (24-51-75), who are second and third in the league in scoring, respectively.

"They obviously have a lot of skill, a few guys that are up there at the top of league points-wise," McQuaid said. "They're very dangerous when you give them opportunities, so the biggest thing is to limit their opportunities. They're going create things out there, they're that good a players, but you just try to limit it as much as possible to have a better chance to keep them off the scoresheet."

Tim Thomas was the first goalie off the ice for the Bruins at the skate, so he is expected to draw the challenge of stopping that Tampa offense after Tuukka Rask played the final two games of the road trip in Edmonton and Ottawa.

Tampa will counter with Mike Smith, last seen here giving up five goals on 22 shots before being pulled in that 8-1 loss. That included one from outside the blue line by Seidenberg, who faked a dump-in to the corner, then fired into the open net as Smith left the crease anticipating the puck coming in around the boards.

The Lightning will be without one of their key offensive weapons, as Vincent Lecavalier is out with a mid-body injury. Tampa is already missing forward Ryan Malone (abdominal) and defensemen Mike Lundin (abdominal) and Marc-Andre Bergeron (back). The Lightning are likely to play seven defensemen and just 11 forwards without Lecavalier. 

The Bruins don't have to make any lineup changes, with Daniel Paille likely to be the healthy scratch again up front, though it's possible Tyler Seguin could be the odd man out as he was one of the last players off the ice at the skate. Andrew Ference (lower body) will remain out on defense.

"He got examined [Wednesday] by our doctors and things are going extremely well for him," Bruins coach Claude Julien said of Ference. "We hope to see him back on the ice the beginning of next week. That could be as early as Sunday if things keep going well."

Recently signed defenseman Shane Hnidy also remains out, as he has not been cleared for full contact while recovering from shoulder surgery.

Projected Bruins lines

Forwards
Milan Lucic-David Krejci-Nathan Horton
Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-Mark Recchi
Rich Peverley-Chris Kelly-Michael Ryder
Shawn Thornton-Tyler Seguin-Greg Campbell

Defense
Zdeno Chara-Johnny Boychuk
Tomas Kaberle-Dennis Seidenberg
Steven Kampfer-Adam McQuaid

Goalies
Tim Thomas
Tuukka Rask

Scratches: Daniel Paille, Andrew Ference (lower body), Shane Hnidy (shoulder)

Projected Lightning lines

Forwards
Marty St. Louis-Steven Stamkos-Steve Downie
Simon Gagne-Dominic Moore-Teddy Purcell.
Sean Bergenheim-Mattias Ritola-Adam Hall
Nate Thompson-Dana Tyrell

Defense
Victor Hedman-Brett Clark
Mattias Ohlund-Eric Brewer
Randy Jones-Pavel Kubina
Matt Smaby

Goalies
Mike Smith
Dwayne Roloson

Scratches: Vinny Lecavalier (mid-body), Marc-Andre Bergeron (back), Mike Lundin (abdominal)