Kaspars Daugavins, picked up on waivers by Boston midseason, will get the call to fill in the spot left by Gregory Campbell's playoff-ending injury. (Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)
BOSTON -- Three storylines for Game 4 of the East final between the Boston Bruins and Pittsburgh Penguins on Hockey Night in Canada on Friday (CBC, CBCSports.ca, 8 p.m. ET). The Bruins lead the series 3-0.
If there is a Game 5, it will be back at Pittsburgh's Consol Energy Center on Sunday.
1. Where can the Penguins draw inspiration to overcome their 0-3 deficit?
From their farm team, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. The Baby Pens rallied from three-down to beat the Providence Bruins in Game 7 on the road in the second round of the Calder Cup playoffs. Bruins defenceman Torey Krug was with Providence, played the first five games in that series before he was promoted to Boston.
"There's lots of different ways I think you can look at what the possibilities are," Pittsburgh coach Dan Bylsma said. "I think you look at it when you have to beat Boston Bruins four times in a row, in four elimination games to move on, that's not something you really want to put your brain around.
"We beat the Boston Bruins three times in games this year [in the regular season]. We've got them one game here tonight. It's elimination for our team, and we'll move on when we do. I know the facts we're in a bracket right now, we've got one game to win to move on in that bracket. It's right here tonight."
The Penguins are 5-1 in their last six playoff games following an overtime loss.
2. Will this impressive Bruins roll hit a bump or continue on?
Not many thought the Bruins would be in this position after three games and hold the high-flying Penguins to just two goals in 10 ¾ periods. Don't forget the Penguins had scored an average of 4.27 goals per game in the first two rounds against the New York Islanders and Ottawa Senators.
But the Bruins have played so well since they woke up to rally to win the seventh and deciding game in the opening round against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Including that overtime win against Toronto, the Bruins have won eight of their last nine games and now have won four in a row. They have outscored their opponents 32-16 during this nine-game run and by a 14-3 margin during this four-game win streak.
Meanwhile, Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask has been outstanding in this series. He has stopped 108 of the 110 Pittsburgh shots. He now ranks first in the playoffs with a .940 save percentage and third with a 1.85 goals-against average. He has allowed two or fewer goals in seven of his last eight games.
3. Who will replace injured centre Gregory Campbell on the Bruins fourth line?
Campbell broke his right fibula when he blocked an Evgeni Malkin shot midway through the second period of Game 3. Left wing Kaspars Daugavins will be back in the Bruins lineup, but he won't play in Campbell's spot.
Instead, Bruins head coach Claude Julien has decided to drop third-line centre Chris Kelly down to the fourth line between Daniel Paille and Shawn Thornton. Left wing Rich Peverley will move into the middle on the third line between Daugavins and Tyler Seguin.
Daugavins, 25, hasn't played since the Bruins playoff opener against the Maple Leafs on May 1, when he took 15 shifts for 9:52 of ice time.
Projected lineup for Pittsburgh
Forward
Chris Kunitz -- Sidney Crosby -- Pascal Dupuis
Matt Cooke -- Evgeni Malkin - James Neal
Beau Bennett -- Brandon Sutter - Jarome Iginla
Brenden Morrow -- Craig Adams - Tyler Kennedy
Defence
Brooks Orpik - Paul Martin
Mark Eaton - Kris Letang
Douglas Murray - Matt Niskanen
Goaltender
Tomas Vokoun
Projected lineup for Boston
Forward
Milan Lucic - David Krejci - Nathan Horton
Brad Marchand - Patrice Bergeron - Jaromir Jagr
Kaspars Daugavins -- Rich Peverley - Tyler Seguin
Daniel Paille - Chris Kelly - Shawn Thornton
Defence
Zdeno Chara - Dennis Seidenberg
Andrew Ference - Johnny Boychuk
Torey Krug - Adam McQuaid
Goaltender
Tuukka Rask
Follow Tim Wharnsby on Twitter @WharnsbyCBC
Tim Wharnsby
Tim's worked the sports beat at The Globe and Mail and the Toronto Sun, specializing in Canada's one true sporting obsession - hockey. He knows the players, the coaches, the backroom boys and most importantly, the fans. That's what he brings to his stories. Knowledge, fairness and understanding are trademarks of a Wharnsby story. That's what you will get here as he writes for CBCSports.ca.
