Bruins' Eriksson sidelined Tuesday by 'minor issue'

Tuesday, 03.04.2014 / 1:06 PM

By Matt Kalman - NHL.com Correspondent / 2013-2014 At the Rink Blog

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BOSTON -- The Boston Bruins are scheduled to be missing one of their key all-round forwards Tuesday night and the Florida Panthers should get a newcomer in their lineup at TD Garden.

Loui Eriksson did not take the morning skate with Boston and was ruled out of the game against the Panthers by coach Claude Julien.

Meanwhile, Brandon Pirri, who was acquired in a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday, took his first morning skate with the Panthers.

"It's a young group in here," Pirri said. "And they're on the right track to do something good. That's what I was looking for, an opportunity to be a part of something. And talking to [general manager Dale [Tallon] last night, it was exciting to be here. And he says we're headed in the right direction. So it's very exciting."

Julien said Eriksson was out because of a "minor issue" and that the wing would be back Thursday when the Bruins host the Washington Capitals. The coach would not elaborate as to whether Eriksson is injured, sick or has an off-ice matter to attend to.

In Eriksson's place, Jordan Caron should play for the first time since Jan. 27.

"He's worked hard, his speed to practices and everything else is the same as everybody else," Julien said about Caron. "He's going to go out there, he's going to compete hard, and he's just going to do what he does normally, and that's just be strong against the walls, be dependable and go out there and play that kind of game."

Here are the projected lineups for both teams:

BRUINS

Milan Lucic – David Krejci – Jarome Iginla

Brad Marchand – Patrice Bergeron – Reilly Smith

Chris Kelly – Carl Soderberg – Jordan Caron

Daniel Paille – Gregory Campbell – Shawn Thornton

Zdeno Chara – Dougie Hamilton

Matt Bartkowski – Johnny Boychuk

Torey Krug – Kevan Miller

Chad Johnson

Tuukka Rask

Scratched: Loui Eriksson