The Boston Bruins find themselves trailing in their best-of-seven opening round series in the Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Buffalo Sabres two games to one following Thursday evening’s 3-1 setback at TD Garden in downtown Boston.
In the wake of the setback, the Bruins have decided on multiple notable lineup changes. During their recent practice session, Boston skated Lukas Reichel alongside Fraser Minten and Marat Khusnutdinov.
This means that rookie James Hagens, who recently made his NHL debut earlier in the month, will draw out of the lineup.
The Boston Bruins Have Made Several Lineup Changes
Reichel, who was acquired by the Bruins at the NHL Trade Deadline last month, will be making his Stanley Cup Playoff debut after having played for non-playoff clubs like the Chicago Blackhawks and the Canucks.
According to head coach Marcu Sturm, they’re hoping to see his “high-end skill and speed” and use it to their advantage.
“Lukas has something we don’t really have – that’s high-end skill and speed,” Sturm said. “That’s what we’re hoping for from him. And he has to dig deep; he has to compete. But those are the things you can’t teach, and we’re hoping to obviously get on the forecheck, get some pucks back and that’s why we feel good about him. And also on the power play.”
Reichel is naturally looking forward to playing in a game that isn’t of regular season nature, and hopes to make an impact.
“Just use my speed, forecheck, go to the net and get some momentum,” Reichel said. “For me, it’s just try to be mentally prepared, sleep good today and then wake up and play hockey. For me, it’s going to be fun. Try to enjoy it and don’t be worried about anything else.”
In the 10 games that he played after being acquired by the Bruins from the Canucks, he scored once while adding a pair of assists.
Bruins Rookie James Hagens Draws Out Of The Lineup
Hagens, who has skated in the first three games of the playoffs, didn’t do anything wrong to be taken out of the lineup, in the words of head coach Marco Sturm.
“James didn’t do anything wrong. Nothing. This kid is 19 years old, don’t forget,” Sturm said. “He did more than I even thought coming in. Tremendous job, tremendous player. We are going to have a great player. It’s hard. It’s a tough league. Going into the last stretch, playing in the playoffs, consistency, it’s a big thing…We take a breather, and I am going to use him again in the future. But I thought it was the right thing to do just to take a breath.”
The Bruins will face the Sabres in Game 4 of their series on Sunday afternoon at TD Garden beginning at 2:00 p.m. ET.
In order to avoid falling into a deep hole of a three games to one series deficit, the Bruins will have to crack through the shield of goaltender Alex Lyon, who was rock solid in goal for the Sabres after replacing starter Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.
Bruins Make Major Lineup Changes After Game 3 Loss To Sabres