The Bruins will take on the Canadiens in Montreal with first place in the Northeast Division on the line on Saturday, but Nathan Horton probably won’t be in the lineup.
Bruins coach Claude Julien told reporters after the morning skate that Horton was “very unlikely to play tonight and still day to day.” Julien wouldn’t reveal any more details about the nature of the injury, which was described simply as “discomfort” on Friday after Horton was forced to leave practice early that day.
Julien had just switched his lines to start that workout, moving Horton down with David Krejci and Blake Wheeler, while Michael Ryder moved into Horton’s spot on the top line alongside Marc Savard and Milan Lucic.
Saturday morning’s skate was optional, so it’s not certain what combinations Julien will use against the Canadiens. Daniel Paille will return to the lineup if Horton is out and could step right into Horton’s spot and play with Krejci and Wheeler. On the other hand, Julien could also opt to keep Paille on the fourth line with Greg Campbell and Shawn Thornton and move Brad Marchand up to a higher line. Marchand has proven capable of playing a more offensive role as he was effective skating with Bergeron and Recchi in several recent games.
Tim Thomas was the first Bruins goalie off the ice at the skate, indicating he will likely get the nod after Tuukka Rask started the last three games. Thomas needed a break after starting seven straight prior to that. He remains atop the NHL leaderboard for most goaltending categories with an 18-4-5 record, 1.80 GAA, .945 save percentage and five shutouts, but is just 8-14-3 with a 3.06 GAA and a .906 save percentage against Montreal, the only Canadian-based team he has never shut out.
Carey Price was first off for Montreal and is having also as strong a season in the Habs’ net, going 20-14-5 with a 2.32 GAA, .920 save percentage and four shutouts. He’s also had plenty of success against the Bruins with an 11-2-2 record, .2.34 GAA and .926 save percentage.
Price won’t have two of his key defensemen in front of him though, as Andrei Markov and Josh Gorges are both out for the year with knee injuries. The Canadiens will get some help on the blue line, as Roman Hamrlik is expected back after missing Thursday’s game against Pittsburgh with an undisclosed injury.
Projected Bruins lines
Forwards
Milan Lucic-Marc Savard-Michael Ryder
Mark Recchi-Tyler Seguin-Patrice Bergeron
Daniel Paille-David Krejci-Blake Wheeler
Brad Marchand-Greg Campbell-Shawn Thornton
Defense
Zdeno Chara-Johnny Boychuk
Dennis Seidenberg-Steven Kampfer
Andrew Ference-Adam McQuaid
Goalies
Tim Thomas
Tuukka Rask
Scratches: Nathan Horton (undisclosed), Mark Stuart (hand)
Projected Canadiens lines
Forwards
Michael Cammalleri-Tomas Plekanec-Andrei Kostitsyn
Max Pacioretty-Scott Gomez-Brian Gionta
Benoit Pouliot-David Desharnais-Mathieu Darche
Tom Pyatt-Jeff Halpern-Travis Moen
Defense
Jaroslav Spacek-James Wisniewski
Hal Gill-P.K. Subban
Roman Hamrlik-Alexandre Picard
Goalies
Carey Price
Alex Auld
Scratches: Yannick Weber, Lars Eller
