Patrice Bergeron, Joe Corvo Will Take Warm-Ups to Determine Status for Game 6 in Washington

by

Apr 22, 2012

The Bruins are facing elimination Sunday afternoon in Washington, and they are also facing big questions in their lineup for Game 6 at the Verizon Center.

Center Patrice Bergeron and defenseman Joe Corvo both suffered injuries in Game 5 Saturday in Boston, and their status for Game 6 is in question. Both traveled to Washington and Claude Julien told reporters in D.C. that they would both take the ice in warm-ups before a final decision will be made.

The Boston Globe's Fluto Shinzawa in Washington reported that Bergeron got to the rink early, arriving ahead of the team bus to be further evaluated and receive possible treatment.

Shinzawa also reported that Corvo arrived on the bus with the rest of the team and then participated in the traditional pregame soccer session among the players, but also revealed that call-up Andrew Bodnarchuk traveled with the team to Washington for the first time in the series.

If Bergeron cannot play, Jordan Caron will likely see his first action in the series. With Caron a wing, that would require further shuffling of the lines, with Rich Peverley, Brian Rolston or perhaps even Tyler Seguin sliding over to center.

With Adam McQuaid still sidelined with an upper-body injury, Mike Mottau would be the likely replacement for Corvo on the blue line if Corvo is unable to play, though the presence of Bodnarchuk raises the possibility of him playing or potentially the Bruins being concerned about another undisclosed injury on the blue line. Julien stated that Caron, Mottau and Bodnarchuk will all be on the ice for warm-ups as well.

The Capitals are unlikely to make any lineup changes after winning Game 5. Veteran Tim Thomas and youngster Braden Holtby will remain the netminders in a goaltending duel that Holtby has surprisingly held the edge in so far.

Paul Devorski and Dan O'Rourke will be the referees, with Steve Barton and Greg Devorski working the lines.

Projected Bruins lines

Forwards
Milan Lucic-David Krejci-Tyler Seguin
Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-Rich Peverley
Benoit Pouliot-Chris Kelly-Brian Rolston
Daniel Paille-Gregory Campbell-Shawn Thornton

Defense
Zdeno Chara-Dennis Seidenberg
Andrew Ference-Johnny Boychuk
Greg Zanon-Joe Corvo

Goalies
Tim Thomas
Anton Khudobin

Scratches: Adam McQuaid (upper body), Nathan Horton (concussion), Tuukka Rask (groin), Mike Mottau, Jordan Caron, Andrew Bodnarchuk

Projected Capitals lines

Forwards
Alex Ovechkin-Nicklas Backstrom-Brooks Laich
Marcus Johansson-Keith Aucoin-Alexander Semin
Jason Chimera- Mathieu Perreault-Troy Brouwer
Matt Hendricks-Jay Beagle-Mike Knuble

Defense
Karl Alzner-John Carlson
Roman Hamrlik-Mike Green
John Erskine-Dennis Wideman

Goalies
Braden Holtby
Michal Neuvirth

Scratches: Joel Ward, Jeff Halpern, Jeff Schultz, Dmitry Orlov, Tomas Vokoun (groin)

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