The Bruins open a two-game road trip against Northeast Division foes Wednesday night in Buffalo, but the Sabres team they will take on will look a little different than the club Boston beat 3-2 in overtime just last Tuesday.
The Sabres are expected to get injured forwards Drew Stafford, Tim Connolly and Rob Niedermayer all back for this game. Niedermayer has missed the past eight games after undergoing knee surgery, but he practiced Tuesday on the top line with Derek Roy and Thomas Vanek.
Stafford, who has missed 15 of the last 16 games with a shoulder injury, skated with Jochen Hecht and Jason Pominville, while Connolly, out for the past eight games with a groin injury, was with Tyler Ennis and Patrick Kaleta. That leaves the checking line of Cody McCormick, Paul Gaustad and Holliston, Mass., native Mike Grier as the only unit that remains intact from the combinations used last week.
The Sabres' defense should remain the same, with former Bruin Shaone Morrisonn still out with a concussion and captain Craig Rivet remaining a healthy scratch. Former Boston College star Nathan Gerbe is expected to be the scratch up front to make room for the returning players. Forwards Luke Adam and Mark Mancari, who played against Boston last week, have already been sent down to the Sabres' AHL affiliate in Portland.
For the Bruins, everyone participated in both Tuesday's practice in Wilmington and Wednesday's morning skate in Buffalo. That includes defenseman Adam McQuaid, who was shaken up on a dirty hit by Philadelphia's Jody Shelley on Saturday but should be fine to play in this one, and rookie forward Tyler Seguin, who missed Saturday's game with the flu.
But Bruins coach Claude Julien wouldn't commit to reinserting Seguin into the lineup, noting that former Sabre Daniel Paille had a solid game on Saturday. It will be a game-time decision for that final spot up front alongside Marc Savard and Michael Ryder. The Bruins don't have any other extra bodies other than defenseman Mark Stuart, who remains out with a broken hand.
Ryan Miller, who is 16-5-7 all time against Boston and 3-1-1 with 1.96 GAA this month, is expected to get the start in goal for Buffalo.
With two games in two nights, the Bruins will likely split their goaltending duties on this trip, and Tuukka Rask was the first off the ice at the morning skate. That means he'll likely get the start in Buffalo, leaving Tim Thomas to take on the Habs in Montreal on Thursday. Rask is a solid choice to face the Sabres, as he is 4-1-0 with a 1.43 GAA and a .954 save percentage against them in the regular season, while also going 4-2 with a 2.18 GAA and a .927 save percentage in last year's first-round playoff victory over Buffalo.
Projected Bruins lines:
Forwards
Milan Lucic-David Krejci-Nathan Horton
Mark Recchi-Patrice Bergeron-Blake Wheeler
Tyler Seguin/Daniel Paille-Marc Savard-Michael Ryder
Brad Marchand-Gregory Campbell-Shawn Thornton
Defense
Zdeno Chara-Johnny Boychuk
Dennis Seidenberg-Steven Kampfer
Andrew Ference-Adam McQuaid
Goalies
Tuukka Rask
Tim Thomas
Scratches: Paille/Seguin, Mark Stuart (hand)
Projected Sabres lines:
Forwards
Rob Niedermayer-Derek Roy-Thomas Vanek
Drew Stafford-Jochen Hecht-Jason Pominville
Cody McCormick-Paul Gaustad-Mike Grier
Tyler Ennis-Tim Connolly-Patrick Kaleta
Defense
Andrej Sekera-Tyler Myers
Jordan Leopold-Steve Montador
Mike Weber-Chris Butler
Goalies
Ryan Miller
Patrick Lalime
Scratches: Shaone Morrisonn (concussion), Craig Rivet, Nathan Gerbe