Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy mentioned during his pregame press conference that he had a couple lineup decisions to make, including a forward who would be a game-time call and a decision about whether to go with seven defensemen on the second night of a back-to-back.
As it turns out, the Bruins have made three changes and are in fact going with seven D.
Forwards Sean Kuraly and Anders Bjork and defenseman Connor Clifton are out, while forward Par Lindholm and defensemen Jeremy Lauzon and John Moore are in.
It's unclear as of the time of this posting if the changes are because of injuries or a coach's decision or a combination of both. Kuraly reportedly was not on the ice for warmups, which would lead you to believe there might be an injury situation there.
Bjork has struggled to contribute offensively throughout the playoffs, as his first point of the postseason came in Game 2 when he picked up an assist for a shot that he had put well wide of the net.
Clifton had a rough Game 2, taking a bad penalty and getting caught out of position on a Lightning goal. However, when talking about going with 11 forwards earlier on Wednesday, Cassidy mentioned that Clifton could have been a failsafe in that situation since he has played some forward before.
Instead, the Bruins will bring in two defensemen with fresh legs in Lauzon and Moore. Lauzon played Games 1 and 2 in the first round, but has been a healthy scratch since. Moore has not played in this postseason yet.
Here are the Bruins' expected lines:
Brad Marchand - Patrice Bergeron - David PastrnakJake DeBrusk - David Krejci - Ondrej KaseNick Ritchie - Charlie Coyle - Chris WagnerJoakim Nordstrom - Par Lindholm
Zdeno Chara - Charlie McAvoyTorey Krug - Brandon CarloMatt Grzelcyk - Jeremy LauzonJohn Moore
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