5:11 p.m.: The game has been postponed. There is no update at this time as to when the game will be rescheduled.
4:30 p.m.: As of 4:30, there’s no official word on whether or not there will be a hockey game tonight.
3:30 p.m.: As you may or may not know by now, there was an explosion at the finish line of the Boston Marathon this afternoon.
Details are starting to trickle in, and it is obviously a horrific scene in downtown Boston. We have no idea whether or not the Bruins will play tonight, but that’s obviously way down on the list in terms of priorities right now.
You can get updated with live updates all afternoon and into the night by following our coverage right here.
2:05 p.m.: Claude Julien also spoke about how he’ll use Carl Soderberg once the Swedish forward joins the club. See what the Bruins head coach had to say by clicking here.
1:35 p.m.: Also on the lineup front, it sounds like Dougie Hamilton will return to the Bruins’ lineup against Ottawa. Actually, that’s exactly what will happen; Claude Julien confirmed it following the morning skate.
Hamilton will return after a two-game break, and he’ll take the place of veteran blue liner Andrew Ference who will get a breather himself. It’s something that we’ll likely see more and more of down the stretch here for the Bruins in their stretch run as they try to get rested and healthy.
“We’re going to rotate some players in and out here from here on in,” Claude Julien said. “We decided to make that decision no matter what, so [Andrew] Ference will be the one sitting out tonight.”
1:25 p.m.: Patrice Bergeron could be back in the lineup Monday night against Ottawa.
The Bruins center skated this morning at morning skate, and sounds like he’s just about ready to return. Bruins coach Claude Julien informed the media that there’s a chance Bergeron could return for this one, and that’s essentially pending the OK from the B’s medical staff.
“Yeah, it’s just making sure we’re all on the same page here,” Julien answered when asked if Bergeron’s status was just contingent upon being cleared medically. “He’s been feeling a lot better for the last few days and seems to be, obviously, doing extremely well. But when you’ve been through what Patrice has been through, we’re always going to make sure we’re extra safe with him, even if it take some extra time we’re willing to do that.”
11 a.m.: The Bruins are in a bad way right now, but they’ve got a week of games at home to right the ship starting Monday with Ottawa. More importantly, however, is the fact that they’re starting to get healthy.
Boston returns home after a highly disappointing loss to the lowly Carolina Hurricanes where they’ll host the Senators on Monday night in the first of four consecutive home games this week.
At the team’s morning skate, the Bruins got a couple of positives, as both Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand were back on the ice. Bergeron, who is suffering from a concussion, has been on the ice at practice for a few days, and he may be back in the lineup Monday night. He took shifts at morning skate centering a line with Tyler Seguin and Milan Lucic, so we might see that trio out there again in a few hours.
Marchand, who is also recovering from a concussion, returned to the ice for the first time since suffering the injury last week against New Jersey. He also took part in line rushes hopping in alongside Jay Pandolfo and Jordan Caron.
No matter who’s in there for the Bruins in this one, they need to turn things around. There’s less than two weeks before the regular season ends, and the B’s are playing their worst hockey of the season. Getting going against another likely playoff team in Ottawa would be a nice start for Boston.
Puck drop from TD Garden is scheduled for 7 p.m.
