ok, so Krecji is playing and Hamill (my pick to stay; must need some more seasoning) was sent to Providence along with other hopeful Brad Marchand and even Vladimir Sobotka was just sent down, which by my count equals only 12 forwards with no scratches and on defense Johnny Boychuk is the probable scratch.
Savard - Lucic - Ryder
Krecji - Sturm - Wheeler
Bergeron - Recchi - Kobasew
Begin - Thornton - Bitz
Chara - Morris
Wideman - Ferrence
Stuart - Hunwick
Thomas - Rask
now that really is one tough lineup to crack and looks like a potential Stanley Cup winning team to me.
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Interesting switch to what looked like the sure thing lines for opening night.
Sturm gets first line duty on his off-wing with Savard and Lucic.
Ryder gets bumped down to the second line with Krecji and Wheels after playing on the "first line" for most of the preseason. maybe the coaching staff was unhappy with his play.
I think the lines will get juggled again for game 2 but that third line will likely stay intact.