Danton Heinen, a healthy scratch for the Bruins' 3-1 loss in Game 6 at Air Canada Centre on Monday that tied the series, practiced on the second line at right wing with left wing Jake DeBrusk and center David Krejci on Tuesday. Tommy Wingels, who played right wing on that line in Game 6, skated with healthy scratches Ryan Donato and Brian Gionta.
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Heinen has no points and four shots on goal in five games playing on the third and fourth lines.
"Whatever we decide [Wednesday], it's not set in stone today, we looked at some things today," Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said. "There is a certain level of trust you have in your players that have gotten you this far, Danton Heinen's one of those. He's played really well for us. The playoffs, you look at his numbers, that line hasn't produced a lot at 5-on-5. So what can we do better? He's still a good defensive player, he's always going to give us that. He can play up in the lineup, he had success going down [to the fourth line] with [Sean] Kuraly."
Heinen, who had 47 points (16 goals, 31 assists) in 77 regular-season games as a rookie, knows what he must do better to contribute if he plays.
"I think be hard on pucks, try to be assertive out there," the 22-year-old said. "And if I'm winning my battles, have the puck a little more and try to make plays from there."
The Bruins could stick with Wingels or turn to another rookie, Donato, who played in Game 2. Donato didn't have a point in his Stanley Cup Playoff debut but had nine points (five goals, four assists) in 12 games after leaving Harvard to sign his first pro contract March 18.
Donato is a left wing and inserting him in the lineup would require other changes. Heinen, on the other hand, can play either wing.
"We're going to try to play the 12 best forwards, see how the pieces fit and win a hockey game tomorrow," Cassidy said.
With Heinen on Krejci's line, Rick Nash, Riley Nash and David Backes formed the third line in practice. The first line (Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, David Pastrnak) and fourth line (Tim Schaller, Kuraly, Noel Acciari) were status quo.
