BOSTON — Facing a 2-0 deficit in the Stanley Cup Final, the Bruins could look to shake things up a bit in their lineup for Game 3 Monday night at TD Garden.
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
