Lazar to Bump Up to Second Line as B's Head to St. Louis

BOSTON - With yet another injury affecting the Bruins' lineup, Curtis Lazar got the call on Monday morning to ride alongside Taylor Hall and Erik Haula. The B's were without winger Jesper Froden, who suffered a lower-body injury late in Saturday's playoff-clinching win over the Pittsburgh Penguins.

With Froden now sidelined and David Pastrnak still out with an injury of his own, Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy turned to Lazar to take Boston's second-line right wing spot.
"He's good at going to the net, net drive, gets pucks off the wall to Haula," said Cassidy. "We don't expect him to replace Pasta's individual skill level but get to the net. We've tried a few different people for different reasons. Pasta's gonna go back there when he's healthy but in the meantime, we want to keep that line feeling good about themselves.
"If Lazar's a fit there then we'll see…showed some flashes last year with his hands so maybe with that line, there might be a few more plays through the neutral zone as opposed to straight line. But I don't want him to completely change the way he plays. But I think he has some ability to do that, so he'll get a look."

Lazar, who has potted a career-high eight goals this season, concurred with his coach, saying that he won't be altering his approach despite playing higher in the lineup.
"Predictable hockey," Lazar said of what he'll bring to Hall and Haula. "I'm not re-inventing my game at all - straight line, win some puck battles for them, open up that ice. They're two highly skilled players that have success. They've got that chemistry.
"Talked to Hallsy a little bit about that today, just where I can fit in, where the outlets are gonna be. I think you guys know I do a lot of my work around that blue paint area. Other than that, just play my game."
Cassidy also provided a number of other updates on the Bruins' injury front:

Pushing the Pace

Cassidy said that with the playoffs fast approaching - just seven games remain in the regular season - the coaching staff has begun to hold the players to a higher standard in an effort to get them prepared for what will no doubt be a highly competitive postseason.
"We've challenged them a lot in the last two weeks, maybe more than we have in the last three months and kind of pushed them," said Cassidy. "We've seen that with different guys getting scratched because the messaging is now we've felt these last two weeks, we're gonna get in, we got in, now it's gonna be grind. You have to be prepared to start building those habits or continuing to build those habits.
"We know what we're up against. There's eight really good teams in the playoffs."

Monday's Practice Lineup

FORWARDS
Brad Marchand - Jack Studnicka - Jake DeBrusk
Taylor Hall - Erik Haula - Curtis Lazar
Trent Frederic - Charlie Coyle - Craig Smith
Nick Foligno - Tomas Nosek - Marc McLaughlin
Anton Blidh
DEFENSEMEN
Matt Grzelcyk - Charlie McAvoy
Mike Reilly - Brandon Carlo
Derek Forbort - Connor Clifton
Jack Ahcan

GOALIES
Jeremy Swayman
Troy Grosenick