Following the skate, Claude Julien told reporters that Seidenberg will not play in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Rangers, while Redden will be a game-time decision. Ference has yet to skate since missing Game 6 of the first round against the Maple Leafs.

Though the Bruins struggled at points without the defensemen, they have won both games played without all three, as Seidenberg left after two minutes of Game 7 against Toronto and all three players sat out for Game 1 against the Rangers.

For more on the Bruins, visit weei.com/bruins.

Captain Zdeno Chara focused on the mission of leading the Bruins in the playoffs. (Mike Petraglia/WEEI.com)

One of the by-products of having three regular defensemen out of the lineup and injured is putting a heavy burden on others.

No where has the burden fallen more heavily than on the shoulders of Bruins captain Zdeno Chara. Claude Julien admitted as much on Friday, a much-needed day of rest for Chara, who logged 38 minutes of ice time in the Game 1 overtime win, three days after skating nearly 36 minutes in a Game 7 win against the Leafs.

Is Julien concerned?

“Well, he’s done it twice in a row now, when you look back at Game 7 and [Thursday],” Julien said. “We’re including overtime in that session, as well. He’s in great shape, he’s got a couple of days here to recover, so I don’t see that being an issue. To be honest with you, right now we don’t have a choice. You deal with it the best way you can.”

In addition to scoring the first goal of the game, Chara’s poke check in the Bruins zone set Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand off on the game-winning rush in overtime Thursday. Those two feats, combined with the 38 minutes on the ice earned him the Army Captain’s Bruins jacket for hero of the game.

“I’m just trying to help the team as much as I can and whatever coach feel comfortable putting out there, I’m fine with that,” Chara said.

Chara has been instrumental in helping rookies, Dougie Hamilton, Torey Krug and Matt Bartkowski in their first NHL playoff experience. He started the game Thursday paired with Hamilton. There is the chance that some combination of Andrew Ference, Dennis Seidenberg and Wade Redden return for Game 2 Sunday but until then, Chara and the Bruins will have no choice but to be prepared.

“You try to obviously try to talk to them on the ice as much as you can,” Chara said. “[The] coaches [are] doing their part so, and also you’ve got to let them play, the way they naturally like to play. So, that’s the biggest thing, but like I said it’s something that’s never easy for any player to come in and all of a sudden be put in a spot like this and you got to make sure that as a unit of five we all play a certain way to make it easier on certain situations.”

Henrik Lundqvist fights off a shot Thursday night in Boston. (AP)

For the second straight year, Henrik Lunqvist is a finalist for the Vezina Trophy, given to the NHL’s top goaltender. As a matter of fact, Lundqvist is making a very strong case as one of the greatest goalies ever to play the game. Before winning the Vezina Trophy in 2012, he was nominated in each of his first three seasons, and is the only goaltender in NHL history to record 30 wins in each of his first seven seasons.

And, for a second straight year, he has led his team into the second round of the playoffs by standing on his head. He came into Thursday’s Game 1 with back-to-back shutouts of the Capitals in Games 6 and 7 to lead the Rangers to victory. He extended that streak to 152 minutes, 23 seconds before Zdeno Chara beat him midway through the second period.

He stopped 45 of the first 47 shots he faced Thursday night, including the first 15 of overtime before Brad Marchand finally beat him in overtime for a 3-2 Bruins win in Game 1.

Lundqvist was searching for answers after Game 1, while hinting that he can only do so much if his offense doesn’t do anything to help take the pressure off. The Rangers were outshot, 16-5, in the extra period.

“I don’t know,” Lundqvist said when asked to describe the Marchand goal. “There was a two-on-one I guess, and I thought I made a bad decision. I mean it’s a tough play, but I could play it better. That was a tough overtime for us. We didn’t really get going, and they came out with a lot of energy and created a lot of chances. I thought we played a pretty good game. We did, but special teams were the difference, the one at one-nothing and then, I mean that’s going to be the case these playoffs. I talked about it in the first round and we’ve got to get it done. We didn’t.”

As is the case with most highly competitive athletes, he was looking for ways he could’ve done more to stop the game-winning goal, set up by a brilliant pass from Patrice Bergeron on a 2-on-1 rush up the center and right wing. Lundqvist stayed with Bergeron a bit too long, allowing Marchand the chance to get open in front.

“I’ve got to see the guy in the middle,” Lundqvist said. “I was too focused on the puck. I kind of knew he [Brad Marchand] was coming in the middle, but I just was too locked in on the puck, and that’s why I made a stretch move instead of coming with my pads together. It’s a technical thing and it happened fast. Sooner or later when you face a lot of chances like that, you’re going to make a mistake. It’s not a mistake I’m going to sleep less over. I thought we played a solid game, but we just came up short here, in overtime again.”

What did his coach John Tortorella think of Lundqvist being so hard on himself?

“He’s a competitor,” the coach said.

Remarkably, Lundqvist is now 3-11 in career overtime games in the playoffs. Bad luck?

“I’ve got to be really careful to ask myself the right question there, because have I played bad in overtime? No. Can I score? No. Is it frustrating? Yes. My record is terrible in overtime, but I’ve just got to stick with it, play my game, and hopefully it’ll turn around.”

Lundvist faced six shots alone on Boston’s power play in overtime, providing Boston the spark it needed in the end.

“It was a tough overtime period for us,” Lundqvist said. “They came hard, and I thought their power play really gave them energy every time they got on the ice. They really built from every power play, it felt like.

Mat Bartkowski

Bruins defenseman Matt Bartkowski, during an appearance on the Mut & Merloni show Friday, talked about jumping into the Bruins lineup and contributing to the team’s postseason success.

Bartkowski, 24, was called up from AHL Providence last week following injuries on the Boston blue line and has appeared in three playoff games since.

“It’s a great opportunity,” Bartkowski said. “It’s what you dream of as a player, being able to step in in the playoffs and hopefully perform and then help the team win. It’s what you want to show everybody in the hockey world and the organization that you can do. It’s just a great opportunity for me.”

Bartkowski played almost 27 minutes in Thursday night’s Game 1 win over the Rangers, as he and fellow call-up Torey Krug were forced into a regular role due to injuries to Dennis Seidenberg, Andrew Ference and Wade Redden.

“Before the game the coaches talked to us and said we’re going to be playing a lot of minutes,” he said. “I knew I’d be playing with Johnny [Boychuk] against the [Ryan] Callahan line. So I figured I’d be playing quite a bit.”

In Game 7 against the Maple Leafs on Monday night, Bartkowski opened the scoring with a first-period goal. He said that helped him mentally, although he never felt out of place.

“I felt pretty in control. The more I played, the more comfortable I got,” he said. “Being able to score that goal pretty early kind of settled me down. It just gave me an opportunity to play my game.”

Bartkowski grew up outside Pittsburgh as a fan of the Penguins when Jaromir Jagr was in his prime in the 1990s. Now the two are teammates in Boston.

“I remember growing up watching him play,” Bartkowski said. “Then, I don’t know what year it was [2001], but him going away from the Pens and it was like this heartbreak for the city. I just every year remember watching him do something different every game. It was pretty amazing. And now being able to play with him, it’s pretty cool.”

To hear the interview, go to the Mut & Merloni audio on demand page. For more Bruins news, visit the team page at weei.com/bruins.

The Bruins did not practice on Friday, but Seidenberg did walk through their dressing room without a limp during media availability.

“It’s a little early to say,” Julien said of his injured defensemen. “It is two days [of rest] and two days in the playoffs makes a big difference as far as getting guys back. So, there’s a possibility, that much I can say. Whether it will or not, too early to say right now.”

For more on the Bruins, visit weei.com/bruins.

Pierre McGuire

NBC Sports hockey analyst Pierre McGuire made an appearance on the Mut & Merloni show Friday morning to dissect the Bruins’ Game 1 win over the Rangers.

After an uneventful first period, the teams traded goals in the second and third periods before Brad Marchand scored the game-winner when he tipped in a pass from Patrice Bergeron 15:40 into overtime. McGuire said the intensity level starting picking up after a play early in the second period.

“I really felt the whole game and the intensity of the game changed after the [Taylor] Pyatt hit on Johnny Boychuk,” McGuire said. “That amped up the entire energy in the building and amped up the entire energy between the two teams. And it created some good opportunities for some phenomenal athleticism from both teams. … In overtime it was clearly the Bruins’ overtime and they dominated it. Obviously, they had the power-play opportunity, they felt comfortable. That’s one of the reasons why home ice matters, because you have such a raucous crowd there. And I think the crowd really helped energize the Boston Bruins, especially during that power-play sequence.”

Added McGuire: “I’m not surprised they had a bit of a slow start. But I really, again, I can’t stress this enough: I thought the whole game and the whole energy of the game changed after Taylor Pyatt hit Johnny Boychuk from behind. That really changed the entire chemistry of the game. That’s good for the series going forward.

“I asked Brad Marchand last night on my interview after the game what kind of series he was expecting. He says, ‘Nasty, physical, mean.’ I would agree.”

Jaromir Jagr didn’t register a point Thursday, but McGuire said he believes his presence will be felt eventually.

“I think he can help the power play. That’s where I think he’s going to be a huge benefit for the Bruins, because of his ability to dominate the puck and make good decisions with it,” McGuire said. “Fatigue was a very real issue for Jaromir last night. That’s why I made the comment that I made [about Jagr needing short shifts].

“I was part of the management team that drafted him, I coached him, I skated with him a ton earlier in his career. I know the body of work that he’s presented, and I know when he’s tired and when he’s not. And you could just see he was breaking down last night after about 25-30 seconds. That’s normal; he’s 40 years old. But I expect that he’s going to help their power play. And I think at some point they’re going to have to look to put Tyler Seguin back on that line in five-on-five situations, especially in the second and third period.”

Seguin, who has just one point in the postseason, continued to struggle offensively Thursday, but McGuire said he saw plenty of positive signs.

“I also saw a player that wanted the puck, he wanted to make a difference,” McGuire said. “His speed could have been a factor in the game, didn’t have a lot of puck luck last night. He could have ended the game last night in regulation if it’s not for [Dan] Girardi just fearlessly throwing his body in front of a Seguin shot, that puck’s in the net. … I do think Seguin’s going to snap out of it. He’s close to breaking through. I can just see it.”

McGuire was complimentary about the play of Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask, and he said criticism of Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist is overblown.

“I’m going to defend [Lundqvist] a little bit here,” McGuire said. “On the [Zdeno] Chara goal — and I talked about it during the broadcast — that was a knuckleball, that was a floating puck. That’s a really tough save for a goalie. In a perfect world does he have it? Yeah. But that’s not a routine save. That’s a really tough shot coming off the stick of Zdeno Chara.

“And then on the [Torey] Krug shot, if you watch the replay again, you’ll see, yeah, he’s square to the shooter, he’s square to Krug, but it touches Derek Stepan‘s stick so it starts to flutter again. So, he had a little bit of bad luck. Is that the best game I’ve seen Henrik Lundqvist play? Absolutely not. But I also think you’ve got to be fair to the guy. A rolling puck on one shot and a knuckleball off a deflection on the other one.

“And the other thing you need to know is Hank’s played so much. I’m not in the Henrik Lundqvist defense league, but I’m just telling you the facts. He’s played so much, I think there’s got to be a little physical and mental fatigue involved for him as well.”

To hear the interview, go to the Mut & Merloni audio on demand page. For more Bruins news, visit the team page at weei.com/bruins.

Shawn Thornton

Bruins forward Shawn Thornton checked in with Dennis & Callahan on Friday morning to talk about Thursday night’s 3-2 overtime victory over the Rangers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinal series.

The Bruins appeared to be in control for much of the game, but Thornton said there was no overconfidence heading into OT.

“I was actually thinking that we’ve hit a lot of posts tonight,” Thornton recalled. “I don’t know how many times you’ve seen it where you have that many chances to win and then all of a sudden they come down the other way and pop one. We talked about it, we wanted to come out in overtime and put the pedal down. They’re a good team, so you can’t give them any reason to get going.”

Added Thornton: “I thought it was pretty even until overtime. We stepped it up. I liked that pretty much all the guys were going last night. We didn’t have any passengers. It’s been a while since we’ve had everyone, all lines going. That was positive.”

Brad Marchand, who left the team’s morning skate with an apparent injury, bounced back with a strong game and scored the winner in overtime — something Thornton said he predicted.

“That was his best game last night of the playoffs,” Thornton said. “I told him it was such. I actually called him in between the third and overtime for scoring — I was very psychic, obviously. He played really well. He wants to do better. He’s a competitor, you can tell. His whole life, everyone has told him he’s too short, too whatever. He wants to win. It was good to see him get back to those ways last night, that’s for sure.”

The Bruins were playing without three injured defensemen, but young blueliners Dougie Hamilton, Matt Bartkowski and Torey Krug came through with solid performances.

“They were really good,” Thornton said. “I thought maybe one of them out of the three might have had some jitters — no one in particular. I saw Bart and Dougie in Game 7, and they were both spectacular in Game 7, too. But Kruger’s first game in a while, he scores a huge goal. I think his first shift he had a couple of plays where he skated out of the zone, and I think that settled him down. I think all three of them were unbelievable back there last night. A little — I don’t want to say surprised, because I’ve seen them all play, and I know they’re very capable of playing in those games. But you’re right, when it’s your first playoff game or your second playoff game, you could have those jitters, and they didn’t. They were unbelievable.”

Following are more highlights from the conversation. To hear the interview, go to the Dennis & Callahan audio on demand page. For more Bruins news, visit the team page at weei.com/bruins.

On his pep talk to Tyler Seguin during the third period of Monday night’s Game 7 win over the Maple Leafs: “I can’t really go into what was said; I like to leave that stuff in the dressing room. There were a couple of plays in the third period where I thought he could have been better. I voiced my concern on those certain plays and told him that the time was now to redeem himself and try to win it for us. He’s got that talent, he’s got those capabilities that he can take that puck and put the team on his shoulders. It was a little talk, and he responded in overtime. He was a big reason we scored that goal.”

On if Seguin’s struggles of late are due to his effort: “Not effort. I think he’s trying. He’s got 35 shots on net, he’s a little bit snakebitten now. He was pretty good on the power play last night. He had a lot of looks, a lot of chances, he was making plays, he was getting pucks back. I know he’s getting a lot of criticism, but I thought last night was one of his better games in the last little bit. He was skating, getting in on pucks and battling. When you’re in a slump, you’ve got to do those little things to get you through. I know, because I’ve been in like a 16-year slump.”

On the strong play from the Bruins’ fourth line: “We take pride in our game, we talk about it before the game that we want to be significant out there. We’re playing against a pretty good fourth line on the other side, too. They’ve got Brad Richards — I think he’s making $10 million, but for whatever reason he’s playing against us. … We have to be careful. We know that the more time we can spend in the offensive zone, the better for us. He’s a dangerous guy. You don’t want to be playing in your end, playing with fire too much, either.”

On the Bruins hitting so many posts: “We’re getting our chances. You can look at it either way. When I hit them, I’m very deflated. But when other people are hitting them, I’m just like, ‘Ah, they’re going to go in eventually.’ It’s good that we’re getting those chances. It means we’re doing things right. With a little luck here or there they could go in. But we’ve been on the other side, too, had some posts hit and they didn’t go in. There’s nothing you can do about it, except I try and focus on the positives most times.”

On if he expects a better performance from Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist going forward: “I’m sure. He’s been up for the Vezina every year for the last 10 years. I think he’s unbelievable. I’m sure he’ll be bringing his A game on Sunday afternoon and from there on in.”

On the TD Garden crowd not being as loud: “In warmup I think they forgot to turn the music on. I could barely hear it. So I think that might have something to do with it. I don’t think they really got the crowd going. It won’t be as loud as an overtime in Game 7. I want Rene Rancourt to get the fans singing again. I kind of liked when they were singing the national anthem. That got everyone going. That gets everyone into it.”

On his plans for Friday: “I think we’re just taking today to get some rest again. Because it’s been such a grind the last month or so, we’re getting as much rest as possible. We have today off. I probably won’t get off my couch, probably going to watch some golf this afternoon.”

John Tortorella was looking for answers after Thursday night's Game 1 OT loss to the Bruins. (AP)

No one tells it like it is quite like John Tortorella, especially after a kick-in-the-gut loss like his Rangers experienced Thursday night at the hands of the Bruins in overtime.

The Bruins manhandled the Rangers in overtime, outshooting them 16-5, with the final shot coming off the stick of Brad Marchand 15:40 into overtime and delivering the Bruins a 3-2 win in Game 1. Six of those 16 shots came on one power play when the Bruins took complete charge and didn’t let go.

“In the overtime? We never regrouped,” Tortorella said. “It was a surge. We couldn’t stop it.

Still, the Rangers had their chances. They scored on a Ryan McDonough slap shot with 1.3 seconds left in the second period to tie the game. They scored just 14 seconds into the third and had a lead. But Torey Krug scored his first career playoff goal in his first career playoff game two minutes later on the power play, tying the game, 2-2.

“We were OK,” Tortorella said. “We’re going to need to be better. If we’re going to win our next game here we need to be better.”

Before getting outshot in overtime, Tortorella felt his team was hanging in with the Bruins on the road in Game 1. But Tortorella, like he normally does, put everything in perspective.

“I thought it was pretty even going into the overtime,” Tortorella said. “But we got spanked in the overtime.”

Brad Marchand scores the game-winning goal in overtime Thursday night. (AP)

Much was made of Tyler Seguin not scoring a goal in the seven-game series against the Leafs, and for good reason. After all, if the Bruins figure to go deep in the playoffs, they will eventually need one of their better players to get going offensively.

But the same could also be said of Brad Marchand, who also went goal-less in round No. 1.

He had three assists but no goals as the Bruins survived in seven games.

Marchand picked a great time to end his drought Thursday night against the Rangers.

Marchand took a perfect feed from Patrice Bergeron on an odd-man rush and beat Henrik Lundqvist at 15:40 of overtime to give the Bruins a 3-2 win in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series.

“I think it might’ve been Z [Zdeno Chara] who had a nice poke check on the three-on-two there,” Marchand said. “And then Bergy did a really good job. I was able to get a little bit of space, he made a great pass, and I just put it in the open net.

“It felt great. We had a really good game tonight, and to be able to finish it off with a win is very big. We’re happy that we’re able to capitalize in these overtime games. They’re very tough games to be in, but we’re happy with the win tonight.”

It was obvious in overtime that the Bruins, thanks in part to a Rangers penalty, picked up valuable momentum due to their re-energized power play, which didn’t scored but put six shots on goal.

“Yeah, it’s a whole new series and we’re happy to play the Rangers,” Marchand said. “They’re a very good team and a very good battle. It’s nice to finally get one there and get the monkey off the back, and hopefully they keep coming.

“That’s usually how it goes in the playoffs. One team does very well in overtime and then the other team gets a lucky one. We hit so many posts and had so many very good opportunities. They were bound to get one. But, again, we’re very happy to get the win tonight.”

Marchand pointed to the six shots on the power play as the key to maintaining energy in the extra period.

“That’s what you need your power play to do,” Marchand said. “Obviously, we didn’t have the best power play all year, but we’re starting to come around. If we’re not scoring, then we’re getting some opportunities. You want to get some momentum off of those. In overtime especially, we had some really good opportunities but we didn’t finish. We just seemed to feed off of that and played very well after that.”

Why did Marchand have so much energy left in overtime? Simple, he bailed on the morning skate early, practically admitting to faking an injury to get off the ice early Thursday morning, when he was doubled over leaving the ice.

“Yeah, exactly, I didn’t want to waste my energy there this morning,” Marchand said. “I felt I had some good jump tonight.

“I wasn’t worried at all. I’m serious, I wanted to get off the ice. Claude knows I hate morning skates. He used to yell at me when we won the [Stanley] Cup there because I wouldn’t even take a stride. I just wanted to get off early.”

Between leaving the ice early and arriving at the Garden for Game 1, Marchand received a text from old friend and 2011 Cup teammate Mark Recchi.

“He just texted me and told me to play my game and not to worry about anything else,” Marchand said. “The goals and stuff will come. It’s nice to hear from him. He’s obviously a guy that I went through a lot when I played with him, and it was good to hear from him again.”

Brad Marchand celebrates his overtime goal that beat the Rangers in Game 1 Thursday night. (AP)

Overtime once again was the Bruins’ friend as Brad Marchand scored the game-winner to give the B’s a 3-2 win over the Rangers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals Thursday night at TD Garden. The goal was Marchand’s first of the playoffs, and the Bruins now have won two straight overtime games and all three overtime contests this postseason.

After a scoreless first period, Zdeno Chara got a slap shot through from the point that trickled past Henrik Lundqvist, ending the goalie’s shutout streak at 152:23. Ryan McDonagh scored on a laser from the left point that Tuukka Rask didn’t see with bodies in front of him. The goal came with 1.3 seconds left in the second, and Derek Stepan scored 14 seconds into the third to give the Rangers the lead on two goals in a span of 15.3 seconds. It was Torey Krug, playing in his first career NHL playoff game after playing only one regular-season game for Boston this season, who tied it with a slap shot on the power play.

Krug, Matt Bartkowski and Dougie Hamilton were called upon Monday, as Dennis Seidenberg, Andrew Ference and Wade Redden were out of action due to various undisclosed injuries. Game 2 will be played Sunday at TD Garden.

WHAT WENT RIGHT FOR THE BRUINS

• The Rangers might regret not taking advantage of this one later in the series if those defensemen are back. On the other hand, give guys like Krug and Hamilton credit for making the most of their responsibilities. Hamilton showed some of that much-talked-about poise on his pass to Krug on the power play to set up Boston’s second goal.

• David Krejci picked up the primary assist on Chara’s goal, which means he now has an NHL-best 14 points (five goals, nine assists) through eight games this postseason.

• Though they didn’t score on it, the Bruins turned in a very strong power play following a Derek Dorsett interference penalty in overtime. The B’s managed six shots on goal during the man advantage — three from Chara and one apiece from Seguin, Hamilton and Jaromir Jagr.

• Once again, the back end was a source of offense for the Bruins. After the B’s got six goals from their defensemen against the Maple Leafs, they got two more Thursday from Chara and Krug.

• Speaking of the Bruins’ D, Bartkowski is just oodles more confident these days than he had been in the past with the Bruins. The same kid who was once too afraid of messing up is skating with the puck, hitting guys and doing everything in between. After losing his stick in the neutral zone, Bartkowski lit up Rick Nash, much to the delight of the crowd. Bartkowski was on the ice for both New York goals, but he’s been a very important part of this team’s defense since stepping in. He was third on the Bruins in time-on-ice in regulation, skating 21:55.

WHAT WENT WRONG FOR THE BRUINS

• Johnny Boychuk came ever-so-close to ending the game with 13:25 left in overtime, but he rang a shot off the right post.

• Boychuk also had a couple injury scares. The blueliner took a bad hit from Taylor Pyatt early in the second period in the corner and was shaken up. He stayed down on the ice while being tended to by Don DelNegro and went down the tunnel after leaving the ice, but he returned to the bench in short order and ended up only missing maybe a minute. His return was well-timed, as it came at the start of a Chara penalty. If Boychuk was out while Chara was in the box, the B’s would have had only McQuaid and the rookies available on defense for the penalty kill.

Then in overtime, Boychuk left the ice in pain after missing a check in the corner and was doubled over on the bench. He stayed in the game, but the last thing the B’s need is another defenseman dealing with pain.

• After picking up just one point (an assist) the entire first round, Tyler Seguin once again forgot to bring the good stuff. Playing on the third line with Chris Kelly and Rich Peverley, Seguin shot the puck right at Lundqvist’s chest on a first-period opportunity and couldn’t get the puck out of the zone on the Rangers’ possession on which they scored in the final seconds of the second period. Seguin has no goals, one assist and a minus-2 rating through eight games this postseason.

• Not necessarily something that went wrong, but something to keep an eye on: Chara played 30:02 in regulation alone, and that’s with a penalty. The Bruins have to hope all of these injuries on defense doesn’t mean wearing down their captain.

• While it was a positive sign to see Boychuk stay in the game, it wasn’t all good for No. 55. He and Seguin both screened Rask on McDonagh’s goal. Rask should have had Stepan’s, but it didn’t seem like he got a look at McDonagh’s.

• All of that talk about blocked shots wasn’t for nothing. Dan Girardi went down to block a shot from Seguin that would have sealed the deal for the Bruins in the final seconds of regulation.