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Reunited fourth line brings energy to Bruins in loss

Bruins Notebook

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February 20, 2012|By Fluto Shinzawa

Bruins center Gregory Campbell and his fellow fourth-liners brought their… (Genevieve Ross/Associated…)

ST. PAUL - Against Winnipeg Friday night, Daniel Paille was away from his usual linemates. Normally the No. 4 left wing, he skated on the third line with Chris Kelly and Jordan Caron.

Yesterday, the fourth line was together again, Paille back with Gregory Campbell and Shawn Thornton. Kelly started the game centering Caron and Josh Hennessy. The fourth-liners responded by bringing their usual hard-hat approach.

“There was some energy from that line,’’ said coach Claude Julien. “You’ve always been able to count on those guys to play with that kind of show. They’ve been good. They had some opportunities. They had a fair amount of shots, that line. They spent some time in the offensive zone. They’re certainly doing their job. Knowing them, they see what we’re going through. They’d like to be able to produce like everybody else.’’

The three grinders combined for nine of Boston’s 48 shots. Paille had the best chance with a breakaway in the first period.

At 2:15 of the third period, with his team trailing by two goals, Thornton dropped the mitts with Matt Kassian. The 6-foot-4-inch, 232-pound bruiser appeared to have asked Thornton to fight earlier in the game. Kassian started with a flurry, then hung on to fend off Thornton’s response.

“I thought maybe it was a good time,’’ Thornton said of the scrap. “There was still a lot of time on the clock. Get some energy on the bench. That was the game plan, anyways.’’

It’s not how you start

For the second straight game, Benoit Pouliot started out alongside Milan Lucic and David Krejci. Yesterday, however, Pouliot finished on another line.

In the third period, Julien replaced Pouliot with Kelly. Pouliot and Caron flanked Hennessy on the third line for the period.

With the Bruins without Nathan Horton (concussion) and Rich Peverley (knee), they’ve needed Pouliot to jack up his game and play out of position.

Pouliot had been most effective as the No. 3 left wing alongside Kelly and Peverley. For the last two games, Pouliot moved up to second-line duty while switching from left wing to right.

“It’s a good opportunity to show what you’re capable of,’’ Pouliot said before the game. “Some of our top guys are out. We’ve just got to step it up. Some guys have moved up. It’s time to take advantage of that and take control of it.’’

But the Bruins didn’t get enough top-six presence out of Pouliot yesterday to keep him with Krejci and Lucic. Through 40 minutes, Pouliot put three pucks on goal in 11:35 of ice time.

Able to smile about it

After smashing his row of teeth - four fakes and a few real ones - during practice Saturday, Kelly spent more than an hour in a dentist’s chair to undergo repairs.