Kelly is one of 3 players to appear in all 82 regular season games for the Sens this year but the influx of healthy bodies to start the post-season forced him out of the line-up to start the series.
"He's a guy that I hated to take out," Boucher shared about Kelly with the media this morning. "He's a terrific person, he's a great professional and he's helped us all year."
"That was probably the toughest thing I had to do this year was to sit him out."
Playoff hockey in Ottawa is nothing new for the 13-year NHL veteran as he has skated in 36 post-season games for the Senators from 2005-10 recording 4 goals and 9 assists over that span. He'll be looking to lean on the experience he's gained in his 90 career playoff games as he joins this series for it's fifth contest tonight.
"The guys have done a great job in the first 4 games," Kelly told Sens TV after the morning skate. "I'm just going to come in and play my game. You look back on the past and try to use the experience to your advantage but every year is different. Every playoff series is different. The one thing that's always the same is that they're exciting and I'm excited to get back in."
Kelly's return also signifies a shift back to the wing for Zack Smith who has been lining up down the middle for chunks of the series. So with all that, here's a look at the Sens' projected line-up for Game #5...
http://2.cdn.nhle.com/senators/images/upload/2017/04/HOME-projected-lineup-0421.jpg
