Friday Bruins Notes: Redden Out, Plenty Of Cuts To Go Around
BOSTON (CBS) - A confident Johnny Boychuk told 98.5 The Sports Hub's Toucher & Rich on Friday morning he would absolutely be playing in tonight's Game 5 against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Wade Redden on the other hand, will not.
Head coach Claude Julien said the veteran defenseman will sit out Friday night's game, but offered no other hints as to his condition, only saying he was "day-to-day." Boston called up defenseman Matt Bartkowski on Thursday night, who will likely take Redden's spot. He skated alongside Adam McQuaid on the Bruins third defensive paring on Friday morning, which allows the Bruins to keep a lefty-righty on each line, and more importantly, not break up the feared Chara/Seidenberg pairing.
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Redden, who had a goal and assist in Game 1, was the only Bruin not on the ice at Friday's morning skate, a good sign after a number of Bruins got banged up in Wednesday night's 4-3, overtime victory in Game 4.
Boychuk's status was in question after he blocked multiple shots on Wednesday night. At one point, Boychuk was down on the ice after blocking shots with each leg, but remained out there as play continued.
"The shift before I got one on the other ankle and then I got one on the other ankle. You get pain and you can't really put pressure on it," he recalled on Toucher & Rich on Friday. "They had the puck, so you can't really stay down so you may as well do something to keep the puck getting from the net. Even if you're going to get hit with another shot, your body is already going to be sore."
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But taking pucks off the shins wasn't all the Bruins dealt with on Wednesday. Both Chris Kelly and Milan Lucic took sticks to the face and received several stitches.
But Kelly said he's feeling good, and it's all just part of the game.
"It's a cut, that's all it is," he said from the B's locker room. "I don't know if it's cool, but it's part of the game. I'm glad I had a visor on, maybe it took some of the blow. But if you look around lots of guys have scratches and cuts on their face, it's all part of the game."
In addition to Kelly and Lucic, Daniel Paille received stitches on top of his nose for a cut he suffered in Game 2.
"I guess it's part of the process, especially in the playoffs," said Paille. "We all expect it this time of the year."
Read: Bruins-Leafs Game 5 Preview
Forward Brad Marchand, whose second line has been struggling, also has a small cut on top of his nose. When asked if he felt bad he only had a minor cut compared to some of the other slices around the locker room, Marchand enjoyed a good chuckle.
"Not really, let those guys get beat up," he said with a smile. "They can take the pucks in the face."
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