Need to Know: Bruins at Islanders | Game 3

UNIONDALE, N.Y. - Craig Smith took the ice at Nassau Coliseum on Thursday morning for an optional morning skate and could be back in the lineup for the Bruins' Game 3 matchup against the New York Islanders. The winger missed Game 2 with a lower-body injury.
"We'll make a decision after morning skate…we anticipate he'll play," said Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy.
If Smith is good to go, Karson Kuhlman would come out of the lineup.
"There shouldn't be any changes other than him going in and Kuhlman coming out," said Cassidy. "Jake [DeBrusk] will drop down to his line with [Nick] Ritchie and [Charlie] Coyle. We'll start that way and see how it goes for us. But that, that's what we're looking at right now. Hopefully that's how it starts tonight at 7:30."
Here's everything else you need to know ahead of the 7:30 p.m. puck drop on NBCSN and 98.5 The Sports Hub:

Ignore the Noise

The Bruins fed immensely off of the TD Garden crowd in Games 1 and 2 and they expect the Islanders to get a similar boost on Thursday night from what is expected to be a near capacity crowd inside Nassau Coliseum, which will feature only a handful of sections that are socially distanced for unvaccinated fans.
Nevertheless, Boston knows it must focus on a strong start and ignore as best they can the hostile surroundings.
"Just like us, we feed off our crowd pretty significantly," Mike Reilly said of the energy the Islanders will get from their building. "This building gets pretty loud with the fans here. We're gonna expect another tight game and I think we're well prepared here. We had a nice little two-day break and a good practice [on Wednesday].
"We'll expect their best, but for us it's important to dictate the play and not sit back on our heels and go out there the first five and try to set the tone."

Miller Remains Out

Kevan Miller, out since Game 4 against Washington with an undisclosed injury, did not travel to Long Island and will not play in either of the next two games. The blue liner began skating earlier this week on his own and has "made some progress," according to Cassidy.
"He's easing his way back in…but obviously not to the point where he's with the team," said Cassidy. "What it means is we lose a veteran guy, a strong guy, a heavy guy. I think it's exposed us a bit on the penalty kill, because he played a lot of minutes there. We've had to use a lot of guys that maybe haven't played quite as much. That's one area we miss him.
"The physicality - if we put [Connor Clifton] or [Jeremy Lauzon] in, let's say, you could make the argument that either one of them…I think both of those guys are physical as well. Maybe not Kevan Miller physical, but they play hard. They want to make it tough on the opposition. That's why they stay in the lineup, because we like that part of their game.
"But at the end of the day, we've also played without him for long stretches over the years. Next man up, guys are ready to go. We'd love to have him back, but until he's here, we believe in the guys that are playing in his place."

Travel Troubles

The Bruins' flight to Long Island was delayed for several hours on Wednesday due to mechanical problems, though Cassidy did not believe the travel troubles disrupted much of Boston's preparation for Game 3.
"Guys just went home, ate dinner, spend a few extra hours with their family and just came back to leave in the evening," said Cassidy. "That's what it entailed. Typically, we'd land before dinner, settle in, have your dinner and have a little free time. As you know, we've left later this year at times, because of the limitations with COVID protocol.
"So, to be honest with you, not that different than what we've done a few times this year, a little later. There shouldn't be any issues with that at all in terms of how we play or our ability to prepare."

By the Numbers

• The Bruins have a 26-18 record all-time in best-of-seven series when the series is even after Game 2 and are 23-22 in Game 3s of series in which the teams were tied at 1-1 after Game 2.
• Bruce Cassidy's next win will move him past Art Ross (32) into sole possession of second place on the team's all-time coaching playoff wins list. Claude Julien is first with 57 postseason victories.

Thursday's Projected Lineup

FORWARDS
Brad Marchand - Patrice Bergeron - David Pastrnak
Taylor Hall - David Krejci - Craig Smith
Nick Ritchie - Charlie Coyle - Jake DeBrusk
Sean Kuraly - Curtis Lazar - Chris Wagner
DEFENSEMEN
Matt Grzelcyk - Charlie McAvoy
Mike Reilly - Brandon Carlo
Jeremy Lauzon - Connor Clifton
GOALIES
Tuukka Rask
Jeremy Swayaman