Sturm, Begin back in lineup; Thornton scratched
BOSTON – The Bruins are slowly getting healthy.
After getting Marc Savard and Byron Bitz back last night, Boston welcomes back Marco Sturm and Steve Begin for tonight’s matchup with Los Angeles.
To make room for them, Vladimir Sobotka and Shawn Thornton are the healthy scratches, along with defenseman Adam McQuaid. It’s the first healthy scratch of the year for Thornton, and his deletion from the lineup is a curious move.
Thornton is one of the few Bruins who has given a honest effort every night. This is a team that needs to work harder and get more physical and more emotionally invested in games to snap out of its current 1-8-1 slump. Thornton is one of the guys who can provide a bit of that, especially against a physical Kings lineup that includes heavyweight Raitis Ivanans, as well as capable scrappers Sean O’Donnell, Matt Greene, Brandon Segal and Wayne Simmonds. Seeing the hard-working and popular Thornton be relegated to the press box isn’t sending the right message to the rest of the team. But it’s just the latest of many head-scratching moves by the Bruins this season.
Tim Thomas is back in goal tonight after Tuukka Rask got the start last night in Buffalo. Thomas will face his soon to be Olympic teammate, as Jonathan Quick (Hamden, Conn.) will be between the pipes for the Kings. Defenseman Jack Johnson and forward Teddy Purcell are out for the Kings, who are going for their first six-game road winning streak since 1974-75. The Bruins, meanwhile, are 0-5-0 on home ice since beating Philadelphia at Fenway Park in the Winter Classic on Jan. 1.
Tags: Kings
