BOSTON — For the first time since Game 2 of the opening round, the Bruins are likely going to have to alter their lineup heading into the third game of their second-round series with Philadelphia.
And once again, the change will likely entail Shane Hnidy stepping in on the blue line for an injured defenseman.
Hnidy played that one game in the first round when Zdeno Chara was sidelined with dehydration, and he is expected to be called up again on Wednesday with Adam McQuaid having suffered a sprained neck in Game 2 Monday in Philadelphia.
"Same as [Tuesday], he's day-to-day, nothing more to report on that situation," Bruins coach Claude Julien said of McQuaid after Wednesday's morning skate. "I know Shane Hnidy is a guy ready to play and he is certainly a possibility in our lineup."
Hnidy is prepared for that possibility, though still awaiting official word that he will be in the lineup.
"It's a regular day for me," Hnidy said. "I'll prepare as if I'm playing and I'll find out tonight."
If he does replace McQuaid as expected, Hnidy will likely see limited action, with the likes of Chara, Dennis Seidenberg, Johnny Boychuk and Andrew Ference seeing additional ice time.
"He has got experience and we’re going to utilize him where we see fit," Julien said of Hnidy. "You watch a player play, if he's showing signs of a guy doing a great job then you give him a little bit more ice time. And no matter what it's one of those situations where our guys are able to handle a lot of minutes. And a lot of teams in the playoffs, even when they do have six D's, will play with four or five more than six. So I don't think there is much that is going to change for us tonight in regards to that."
Hnidy played just seven shifts for 4:13 in that game against Montreal, while also spending five minutes in the penalty box for fighting James Wisniewski after the Montreal defenseman boarded Rich Peverley. Hnidy played just three games in the regular season, but has played 550 career games in the NHL, plus another 38 in the playoffs.
"That's the situation, you're going to kind of get thrust into games," Hnidy said. "You don't know what's going to happen. So that's where I go back to saying preparation's big. You prepare to play and if you do you do and if you don't you go from there."
The Bruins aren't expected to make any other lineup changes, with Tyler Seguin remaining a healthy scratch up front and Tim Thomas again in goal after a stellar 52-save performance in Game 2.
The Flyers have their own injury questions. Defenseman Chris Pronger missed Game 2 with a lower-body injury and did not participate in Wednesday's morning skate. He hasn't been ruled out for Game 3, but appears unlikely to play. Jeff Carter, who missed the final three games of the Buffalo series and the first two games against the Bruins with a knee injury, did skate with the club Wednesday morning and will be a game-time decision.
If he plays, Jody Shelley, who played his first game since March 17 in Game 2 after returning from a broken orbital bone, will likely return to the press box and the Flyers could reshuffle their lines to put Carter back on a scoring line. Danny Syvret will likely remain in on defense after filling in for Pronger in Game 2.
Brian Boucher, who was pulled after allowing five goals on 23 shots in Game 1 and left Game 2 briefly with a hand injury, is expected to get the start in goal again for Philadelphia.
Projected Bruins lines
Forwards
Milan Lucic-David Krejci-Nathan Horton
Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-Mark Recchi
Chris Kelly-Rich Peverley-Michael Ryder
Daniel Paille-Gregory Campbell-Shawn Thornton
Defense
Zdeno Chara-Dennis Seidenberg
Andrew Ference-Johnny Boychuk
Tomas Kaberle-Shane Hnidy
Goalies
Tim Thomas
Tuukka Rask
Scratches: Adam McQuaid (neck), Tyler Seguin, Matt Bartkowski, Jordan Caron, Jamie Arniel, Anton Khudobin
Projected Flyers lines
Forwards
Scott Hartnell-Danny Briere-Ville Leino
James van Riemsdyk-Claude Giroux-Nikolay Zherdev
Dan Carcillo-Mike Richards-Kris Versteeg
Darroll Powe-Blair Betts-Jody Shelley
Defense
Kimmo Timonen-Braydon Coburn
Sean O'Donnell-Andrej Meszaros
Danny Syvret-Matt Carle
Goalies
Brian Boucher
Sergei Bobrovsky
Scratches: Jeff Carter (knee), Chris Pronger (lower body), Andreas Nodl (upper body), Zac Rinaldo, Matt Walker, Nick Boynton, Erik Gustafsson, Ben Holmstrom, Michael Leighton
