BRIGHTON, Mass – Tommy Wingels was on the ice for the Bruins at Saturday morning skate at Warrior Ice Arena prior to Game 2 of the first-round series against the Maple Leafs and is still “questionable” for tonight after getting boarded by Nazem Kadri in the opener Thursday night.
It’s expected that Ryan Donato will draw in for the Black and Gold if Wingels isn’t ready to go and man the left wing on the third line along with Noel Acciari and David Backes.
That would drop Danton Heinen down to the fourth line with Tim Schaller and Sean Kuraly and give the Bruins more of a youthful, offense-heavy look rather than the more physical, gritty group that had success in Game 1. Wingels was pleased with the decision of a three-game suspension for Kadri after the Leafs forward launched into his head as Wingels was on his knees against the side boards, but was also ready to put it in the rear-view mirror.
"I didn't like the hit. I thought I was in a vulnerable spot,” said Wingels. “As a game, as a league and as players, that's the stuff we don't want in our game. It was handled, league did a great job and now it's in the past"
Donato was obviously excited about the prospect of getting into his first Stanley Cup playoff game.
“Obviously, it was disappointing not being able to go [in Game 1], but you get a little bit of rest and I got some exposure to the playoff atmosphere watching that game," Donato said. "Hopefully I can use some of those lessons that I learned for tonight. My biggest focus is having the most impact that I can for the team. There are a lot of guys that can score goals and there are a lot of guys that can be consistent, and I want to be one of those guys that’s consistent and contributes offensively as well.”
- MORE HAGGERTY - B's Perfection Line make a dominant statement in Game 1
Here are the projected Bruins line combos and D-pairings for Game 2 based on the optional morning skate:
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Marchand-Bergeron-Pastrnak
DeBrusk-Krejci-Nash
Donato-Acciari-Backes
Schaller-Kuraly-Heinen
Chara-McAvoy
Krug-Miller
Grzelcyk-McQuaid
Rask