Bruins vs Rangers

BOSTON -- Boston Bruins coach Claude Julien was right to be pessimistic Thursday morning about having any of his injured defenseman in the lineup for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the New York Rangers (NBCSN, TSN, RDS).

"They weren't on the ice this morning. Doesn't look good," Julien said after his team's morning skate at TD Garden.

In place of Andrew Ference, Dennis Seidenberg and Wade Redden, the Bruins inserted rookies Matt Bartkowski and Dougie Hamilton against the Rangers, and Torey Krug, who is making his Stanley Cup Playoffs debut.

BOSTON -- New York Rangers coach John Tortorella sort of hemmed and hawed after getting a question about his team's struggling power play Thursday morning.

He appeared intrigued about the potential of it getting close to coming through, considering the Rangers were able to get the puck into the zone and keep it there against the Washington Capitals, but he wasn't about to argue against the reality that two goals on 28 chances simply isn't good enough.

"Still wasn't good," Tortorella said. "We need to be better right on through it."

BOSTON -- The sight of forward Brad Marchand leaving the ice early Thursday during the Boston Bruins' morning skate was the last thing the organization needed to see.

Marchand pulled up lame during a 2-on-1 drill with center Patrice Bergeron and went to the dressing room with the trainer while the rest of the team continued to prepare for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the New York Rangers at TD Garden (7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, TSN, RDS).

After the skate, coach Claude Julien wasn't worried about Marchand’s availability.

"He'll be fine. He'll be there tonight," Julien said.

GREENBURGH, N.Y. -- Zdeno Chara's slap shot travels upwards of 108 miles per hour, but the New York Rangers will throw their bodies in front of it if they can in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

They’re going to have to if they plan on getting past the Boston Bruins in this Eastern Conference Semifinal series, which begins Thursday night at TD Garden (7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, TSN, RDS).

GREENBURGH, N.Y. -- For New York Rangers forward Rick Nash to break out against the Boston Bruins, he's going to have to break a trend that isn't growing in his favor.

Nash didn't score a goal in three regular-season games against the Washington Capitals and similarly couldn't break through in seven Stanley Cup Playoff games. Nash didn't score a goal in three regular-season games against the Bruins, the Rangers' opponent in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

However, Rangers coach John Tortorella said he thinks Nash, the team's leading scorer with 21 goals in the regular season, is enough of a professional to forget his lack of success in the conference quarterfinals and start fresh against the Bruins on Thursday.

"He played really well in Game 7 and really didn't have many bad games in the seven-game series in Washington," Tortorella said Wednesday. "He didn't finish. He certainly wasn't totally on. But he's very close, and I thought he played really well in Game 7. So, yeah, he's playing, and I think he's going to be a really big part of this as we enter into Boston."

BOSTON -- If earning status as a finalist for the Selke Trophy as the NHL's top defensive forward wasn't enough of a compliment for Boston Bruins center Patrice Bergeron, teammate Jaromir Jagr paid Bergeron another one after practice at TD Garden on Wednesday.

Bergeron, Pavel Datsyuk of the Detroit Red Wings and Jonathan Toews of the Chicago Blackhawks were announced Wednesday as finalists for the award.

"I think Ronnie Francis was the same way," Jagr said of Bergeron. "He wasn't very flashy. He scored a lot of goals but not the highlights goals. And he did everything perfect, especially defensively. The GMs and the coaches, they know. And it doesn't mean the media doesn't talk about him much. People who are close to hockey and understand hockey, they know how special he is. So it's all right."

BOSTON -- With a little more than 24 hours before the start of the Eastern Conference Semifinal series with the New York Rangers on Thursday (7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, TSN, RDS), the Boston Bruins practiced without three of their regular defensemen Wednesday at TD Garden.

Andrew Ference and Wade Redden, who were scratched prior to Game 7 against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday, and Dennis Seidenberg, who played two shifts of the Bruins' dramatic win, all missed the session.

Coach Claude Julien said there was no update on any of the three veterans and said he might not know his lineup until pretty close to the start of Game 1 Thursday.

Even without three key members of their blue line, the Bruins had seven defensemen on the ice, including rookie Torey Krug, who was recalled from Providence of the American Hockey League on Tuesday.

All of Boston's forwards were healthy and on the ice. Here's a look at the Bruins' forward lines and defense pairings from practice:

GREENBURGH, N.Y. -- If practice Wednesday is any indication, the New York Rangers will start the Eastern Conference Semifinals on Thursday (7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, TSN, RDS) without Marc Staal, Ryane Clowe and Darroll Powe.

None of the three injured Rangers participated in practice Wednesday.

Powe was hurt early in Game 3 against the Washington Capitals after a collision with Joel Ward along the boards. Powe didn't return to the series.

Clowe left in the first period of Game 5 after he was boarded by Jason Chimera and his head slammed off the glass. Clowe also did not return to the series.

Staal has been dealing with issues related to his right eye injury sustained March 5. He played 17:17 in Game 3 against Washington but sat out the rest of the series. He had been practicing with the team.

The Rangers' forward lines and defense pairs from Game 7 against Washington stayed intact for practice Wednesday: