Bruce Cassidy is once again shaking things up as his Boston Bruins try to regain control of their Stanley Cup playoff second-round series with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Cassidy announced Tuesday morning before Game 3 that rookie winger Karson Kuhlman will enter the Boston lineup and will take the place of fourth-line winger Chris Wagner.
For as relatively minor as the move might seem, it is interesting. Wagner at times this season has been a valuable contributor on the Bruins’ fourth line, and when that unit was clicking, Wagner was playing arguably his best hockey of the season. He also has shown a willingness to throw around his weight, which is valuable in a series like this against a tough Blue Jackets team, but Wagner was offering little else through the first two games. Kuhlman has yet to appear in the second round, but he was a bit of a sparkplug when inserted into the lineup in the first round against Toronto and had some important, overlooked plays in Boston’s Game 7 win.
Kuhlman drawing in is the only change in that regard, but the Bruins’ lines could look different in Game 3. B’s sniper David Pastrnak has struggled mightily throughout the first two rounds, and it appears he was demoted. Pastrnak was skating on the third line alongside Marcus Johansson and Charlie Coyle at practice Monday, while Kuhlman was taking second-line rushes with Jake DeBrusk and David Krejci while Danton Heinen assumed the position at first-line right winger.
All Cassidy would admit to Monday, though, was that Pastrnak wouldn’t be on Boston’s fourth line, so it’s possible he’ll move around once the game starts. The Bruins definitely are at their best when Pastrnak is clicking as a top-six offensive contributor, which gives Cassidy the ability to either roll out the best line in hockey (Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and Pastrnak) or spread the wealth with Pastrnak on the second line. The obvious hope is putting him on the third line takes off some pressure and allows the 22-year-old to get going again. If he can’t, the Bruins’ summer vacation will begin earlier than any of them hope.
Here are the projected lines and defense pairings for Game 3 in Columbus.
BOSTON BRUINS (1-1)
Brad Marchand — Patrice Bergeron — Danton Heinen
Jake DeBrusk — David Krejci — Karson Kuhlman
Marcus Johansson — Charlie Coyle — David Pastrnak
Joakim Nordstrom — Sean Kuraly — Noel Acciari
Zdeno Chara — Charlie McAvoy
Torey Krug — Brandon Carlo
Matt Grzelcyk — Connor Clifton
COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS (1-1)
Artemi Panarin — Pierre-Luc Dubois — Cam Atkinson
Nick Foligno — Matt Duchene — Josh Anderson
Alexandre Texier — Alexander Wennberg — Oliver Bjorkstrand
Riley Nash — Boone Jenner — Brandon Dubinsky
Zach Werenski — Seth Jones
Dean Kukan — David Savard
Scott Harrington — Adam Clendening
