Shawn Thornton will be back in the Bruins lineup for Game 2 after being a healthy scratch in Game 1 to accommodate the return of Marc Savard.
Savard, of course, scored the game-winning goal in overtime to lift the Bruins to a 5-4 win and 1-0 series lead. Unfortunately, Marco Sturm exited the contest just 21 seconds into regulation, suffering a torn ACL and MCL, an injury that will put him on the shelf for the remainder of the playoffs. As a result, a spot opened up in the lineup and Thornton will be skating on the right wing with Steve Begin and Blake Wheeler.
Thornton was more than willing to help his team by being the odd-man out for Game 1. He's upset that he has to enter the lineup as a result of a
season-ending injury, but he plans on going in and just doing
his job.
"If that's the way it has to be sometimes, I'm more than happy to do it. But obviously I want to help on the ice and it's great to be back," he said. "No one likes to see that and obviously I won't be scoring 22 goals like Sturmie but everyone has their roles and we just need to do them and step it up another level. I feel for Marco and we just have to go out there and do our best collectively to replace what he brings. I have a role and that hasn't changed. I'll bring what I bring and the rest of the guys will too."
Thornton is also happy he doesn’t have to sit on the edge of his seat again and go through the emotion swings and excitement a fan does as opposed to a player.
"I can't stand it," Thornton said of watching instead of playing. "I almost had a heart attack. It's way harder to watch than it is to play. When you're involved, you kind of go with the flow. When you're up top or in the back room watching the game on TV, every chance, your heart jumps out of your chest."
With Thornton in and Sturm out, Head coach Claude Julien will once again have to shuffle the lines around, and reaffirmed there could be some changes come game time or during the game.
"With [injuries and additions], I probably plan on moving guys around, but we’ll see how it goes," Julien said. "I’m prepared for any scenario, so I can’t give you the answer you probably want. It’s not going to be carved in stone that way. That’s part of playoff hockey — you adjust and you go on as you see necessary."
Here's the possible lineup for Game 2:
Bruins
Forwards
Daniel Paille–Patrice Bergeron–Mark Recchi
Milan Lucic–David Krejci–Miroslav Satan
Vladimir Sobotka–Marc Savard–Michael Ryder
Blake Wheeler–Steve Begin—Shawn Thornton
Defensemen
Zdeno Chara–Johnny Boychuk
Matt Hunwick–Dennis Wideman
Andrew Ference–Adam McQuaid
Goaltenders
Tuukka Rask
Tim Thomas
