Things with the Bruins lineup have been so dull of late that a debate as to who coach Claude Julien will play on the team’s fourth line is their “hot question” coming into tonight’s Game 5.
Julien told reporters today he’s deciding between Kaspars Daugavins and Carl Soderberg to play alongside Rich Peverley and Shawn Thornton and we won’t find out who he’s going with til tonight. When asked why he was tinkering with things, he was pretty direct.
“Why? Because I’m the coach and because I can,” he said. “You guys ask me why I make those changes. I didn’t spend three days thinking about that. It’s a situation that I can do.”
Zing.
As for whether Soderberg will indeed make his Stanley Cup Final (and playoffs) debut tonight, it sounded like Julien was hedging his bets.
“Well, I haven’t seen (Soderberg) that much. He’s only played a few games, and that’s probably the main reason he hasn’t played in the Playoffs is we went with some experienced players,” Julien said.
“I have to look at whether I feel comfortable staying with Daugavins, or as you know right now, it’s been between Soderberg and Daugavins. But they’re two different players. Size-wise they’re different. One is obviously real gritty along the walls, and the other one is probably more of a play maker.
“So there’s a difference there, and that’s where I have to make my decision what I feel I may need for tonight.”