Post-Trade Bruins vs. Post-Trade Coyotes

What would otherwise be a late-season stinker -- the slumping Bruins trying to score 2 garbage points against the brutal Coyotes -- will be a little more interesting because it happens to fall on the day after the trade deadline.

Do the Lineup Shuffle!

Rink Rap takes a shot at guessing Claude Julien's line combinations, pairing Recchi with Savard on the first line and moving Lucic to the third with Bergeron. Here's what I would do:

Lucic-Savard-Kessel
Wheeler-Krejci-Ryder
Recchi-Bergeron-Kobasew
Bitz-Yelle-Thornton

That's right, I'd scratch Axelsson's unproductive butt. He's goalless with 3 assists in his last 18 games, which wouldn't be so bad if he weren't -5 on the best even-strength team in the league. If he plays he'll likely bump Bitz off the roster, which seems both unproductive and unfair to a quickly-developing young player.

Disagree? Post your "If I was Claude Julien for a day" lines in the comments.

A few positive notes:
- The Coyotes are going to be a fundamentally different team since they shipped half their roster to other cities this week. At the very least they will spend the first part of the game adjusting to new linemates and a new system. Frankly, there's no reason this one should be close after 2 periods. If it even comes close to OT, that "panic" button will begin to look tempting.
- Milan Lucic is "good to go" for tonight's game according to Julien.
- Tim Thomas will get the start in what should be a confidence-building effort.
- Mark Recchi's locker is conveniently located in between Blake Wheeler and Byron Bitz, both rookie wingers. That trade was about more than just power-play goals.
- Danny Picard says there were a lot of smiles in the locker room this morning.

Good previews as usual over at SBNation, from Stanley Cup of Chowder (Bruins) and Five For Howling (Coyotes). Looks like they're still sore over the Wheeler thing.