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Julien to decide Friday who will replace Campbell on ‘Merlot Line’

Paille Thornton Campbell

Claude Julien knows Gregory Campbell is done for the remainder of the playoffs after breaking his leg in Game 3.

What the Bruins coach isn’t sure of is who’ll replace Campbell on the club’s valuable fourth line.

“We’ve got lots of options,” Julien told reporters on Thursday. “We’ll look at it closer today and make a decision tomorrow.”

Campbell, along with Dan Paille and Shawn Thornton, is part of Boston’s “Merlot Line,” so named because of the wine-colored jerseys they wear at practice.

(It also keeps people from referring to them as the “fourth line,” which nobody likes.)

The trio has been together for a while and is known for stepping up come playoff time. They’ve combined for 16 points in 15 games this postseason and were huge in the second-round victory over the Rangers.

While Campbell will be missed, there’s no shortage of viable replacements.

Joe Haggerty of CSNNE.com reports that Carl Soderberg, Kaspars Daugavins and Jay Pandolfo are all in the mix, and that AHL call-ups Jordan Caron, Chris Bourque and Carter Camper could get a look as well depending on what Julien wants to do.

Speaking of what Julien wants to do, he said his goal is to ensure the Bruins can still roll four lines.

“We’ve just got to make sure we get something out of all of our lines right now,” he explained. “I think that’s the most important thing for us, and that’s where decisions are going to have to be made and how do we make it work so that we continue to have four lines.”