The Bruins scratched Rich Peverley and Dougie Hamilton for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals against the Maple Leafs. Boston’s other healthy scratches were Carl Soderberg, Jay Pandolfo and Aaron Johnson.

The lineup in warmups was as follows:

Milan Lucic – David Krejci – Nathan Horton
Brad Marchand – Patrice Bergeron – Tyler Seguin
Kaspars Daugavins – Chris Kelly – Jaromir Jagr
Daniel Paille – Gregory Campbell – Shawn Thornton

Zdeno Chara – Dennis Seidenberg
Andrew Ference – Johnny Boychuk
Wade Redden – Adam McQuaid

Tuukka Rask

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James van Riemsdyk has had some big performances vs. the B's in the postseason. (AP)

The Maple Leafs don’t have as much playoff experience, but they do have one guy who has seen their current opponent plenty in the postseason. And he’s 23.

James van Riemsdyk, who was traded to Toronto from Philadelphia in the offseason, is now facing the Bruins in the postseason for the third time in his career. Additionally, the UNH product knows the Garden well from his college days. He played in the double-overtime loss to BC in Hockey East tournament in 2008 and a year later was responsible for getting the ball rolling on the Flyers’ Game 7 comeback from a 3-0 defecit.

“It seems like every year in the playoffs it’s against the Bruins,” van Riemsdyk said Wednesday. “Obviously, they’re a strong team and it’s a fun building to play in here, but you’re going to have to bring a strong game if you want to be successful.”

As a rookie, van Riemsdyk got the Flyers on the board late in the first period with Boston up, 3-0. The Flyers came back to win the game, capping off a four-game comeback after the B’s took the first three games of the season.

A year later, the Flyers and B’s met in the Eastern Conference semifinals for the second consecutive year, with van Riemsdyk turning in one of the best single-game performances of that postseason from someone not named Tim Thomas in Game 2. He scored on his first shift and added another tally at 9:31 to give the Flyers a 2-0 lead in the first 10 minutes. The B’s came back to win the game in overtime, but that game should be remembered for being a showdown of van Riemsdyk vs. Thomas, the B’s goalie had to deal with eight shots from the young scorer.

While those two performances make for some major highlights of the 23-year-old’s career, JVR is hardly a Bruins killer. He has four goals in 11 playoff games against the B’s, but he hopes to add significantly to that total this year. After a successful season in which he scored 18 goals in his first campaign for the Leafs, he knows from experience that he’ll need to reach an even higher level this month and hopefully beyond.

“Obviously [the Bruins'] level of play kind of raises a bit in the playoffs, but these guys have had quite a bit of success the last few years,” van Riemsdyk said. “So you know you’re in for a tough game every time.”

The situation in which van Riemsdyk finds himself is an interesting one. The 6-foot-3, 200-pound winger went from being a kid on a team used to making the playoffs to someone with more postseason experience with most of his teammates on a team that is in the playoffs for the first time since 2004.

“Maybe those teams had a little more playoff experience, but obviously when you make the playoffs you know you’re doing something right,” he said when asked to compare the Flyers squads that faced the B’s to this Maple Leafs club. “We obviously have a lot of skill in this room. We’re capable of doing good things. It’s just a matter of us going out there and taking it one shift at a time and focusing on the details of the game.”

Wade Redden

When the Bruins’ biggest deadline-day acquisition was Wade Redden, it appeared that the B’s were making a smaller move for depth, with Jaromir Jagr figuring to be the only acquisition to have a real impact down the road.

Fast forward to the beginning of the playoffs, and that is not the case. Redden has played his way into the Bruins’ lineup and figures to be Adam McQuaid‘s partner in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference, with Dougie Hamilton being a healthy scratch.

“This is what we all play for this time of year,” Redden said after Wednesday’s morning skate. “Everything is on the line, so it’s going to be fun. I’m going to try to enjoy as much as I can. It’s obviously an intense atmosphere. To try to go out there, play loose and play free. That’s the best way to approach it.”

It’s been a tough few years for Redden. The former second overall pick signed a six-year, $39 million deal with the Rangers prior to the 2008-09 season, and saw a fall from grace so great he spent the last two seasons in the AHL before being brought out prior to this season and signing a one-year deal with the Blues.

When he was traded to the B’s, he didn’t know if he’d be given the opportunity that he’s been given. He’s obviously happy with the way things have worked out.

“You never know what’s in store for you,” Redden said. “I went down, I approached the game I always have. That hasn’t changed today, so I’m use going to play my game, go out there and have some fun. I’m looking forward to it.”

In six games for the B’s, the 35-year-old has a goal and an assist for two points and an even rating.

“I think Wade feels pretty good about himself right now,” Claude Julien said. “He’s had some tough years, as far as where he was, whether how he’s been traded and everything else, but he’s come in here, and he’s got a fresh chance to prove himself. The games that he played, he moved the puck extremely well. His experience is invaluable, and his confidence right now is pretty good. When you have Wade in that zone, he becomes a pretty good player.”

One more note on Redden: The Bruins sent a conditional 2014 seventh-round pick to St. Louis in the deadline deal, with the condition being that the pick becomes a 2014 sixth-rounder if he plays at least one playoff game. That pick figures to vest Wednesday, making it a sixth-rounder for the defenseman.

Phil Kessel has to put up with his old team for a series. (AP)

Phil Kessel is happy to be back in the playoffs, but the former Bruin would probably prefer a different opponent.

There are plenty of storylines in the Bruins-Maple Leafs series, the first one since 1974, and chief among them is that Kessel is facing his old team and the players (Tyler Seguin and Dougie Hamilton, the latter of whom will be a healthy scratch) that were chosen with the first-round picks the Leafs traded to Boston in 2009 for the young scorer.

Kessel ducked the Toronto media on Monday because he didn’t want to face the inevitable questions of what it will be like to face a Boston team that includes a coach that put him in the doghouse, a defenseman who has made their meetings a nightmare and a flashy young Ontario native who could one day become a better scorer than him. After Wednesday’s morning skate, there was nowhere for the shy and oft-criticized Kessel to hide.

“It’s never been me to be much for attention,” Kessel explained. “I’ll talk when I have to talk and that’s about it.”

That is within Kessel’s rights, and he isn’t the first player to do it. Even Seguin, who is far more outgoing than the keep-to-himself Kessel and is more than accommodating of the media, left Edmonton reporters high and dry last year when Taylor Hall and the Oilers were in town. That isn’t the issue though. Bruins fans don’t like Kessel because he didn’t want to play in Boston and the Bruins didn’t want to give him a ridiculous contract. That combination, plus the package Brian Burke and the Leafs were willing to send Boston’s way (two first-round picks, both of which became top-10 picks, as well as a second-rounder), led to Kessel’s exit from the team that drafted him fifth overall in 2006 and saw him become a 36-goal-scorer.

Since then, Kessel, despite continuing his ascent to becoming one of the best scorers in the league (an average of 33 goals over his first three seasons with Toronto and 20 goals in 48 games this season), Kessel has notably disappeared against the Bruins. In 22 career games against the B’s, he has just three goals and six assists for nine points with a woeful minus-22 rating. Fans have gotten on him, at first chanting “Thank You, Kessel” when Seguin (10 goals, six assists for 16 points and a plus-8 vs. his hometown team) has scored against the Leafs, but now just frequently chanting it anyway.

“I had three great years here,” Kessel said Wednesday. “Some great memories. They were great to me when I was here. I figure when you leave, you’re always going to get the grief, right? So it’s OK, but I enjoy playing here. They have great fans and I think it’s going to be a good atmosphere tonight.”

Though Kessel has obviously been silenced on the ice by Zdeno Chara when he has faced the B’s, but it will be interesting to see if he elevates his play in the postseason. After being a healthy scratch for the first three games against the Canadiens in 2008, he had four points (three goals and an assist) in four games. The next postseason, his last one in Boston, he had 11 points (six goals, five assists) in 11 games.

Kessel’s clearly done thinking about that, though, just as he is with his whole Boston experience. He’s back in the playoffs as a Maple Leaf and is more focused on beating his former team than thinking about his days with them.

“That’s four years ago, right?” Kessel said. “I don’t think it matters that much anymore.”

Claude Julien (AP)

Claude Julien insisted on Tuesday that his lineup for Game 1 wasn’t set, and after showing the same one in Wednesday’s morning skate said the same thing. Until different lines and defensive pairings take the ice, assume he’s fibbing.

The lineup Wednesday morning was as follows:

Milan Lucic – David Krejci – Nathan Horton
Brad Marchand – Patrice Bergeron – Tyler Seguin
Kaspars Daugavins – Chris Kelly – Jaromir Jagr
Daniel Paille – Gregory Campbell – Shawn Thornton

Zdeno Chara – Dennis Seidenberg
Andrew Ference – Johnny Boychuk
Wade Redden – Adam McQuaid

Tuukka Rask

Julien said that Horton is a game-time decision after missing the last five games with an upper-body injury, but Horton said Tuesday that he expects to play and has practiced the last two days. The coach did admit that Dougie Hamilton will “probably” be a healthy scratch in favor of Redden.

It’s really unlikely that a coach whose lineup has been in flux would really change his lines last-minute before the playoffs start, so expect to see that lineup for Game 1. The one area where there could be a late change would be the left wing spot on the third line, where Rich Peverley could enter the lineup in favor of Daugavins. Peverley appears to be in Julien’s doghouse, but he’s versatile and just so happened to lead the Bruins with three goals and five points in their seven playoff games last season.

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

Jaromir Jagr

Bruins forward Nathan Horton said he fully expects to play Wednesday night in Game 1 against the Maple Leafs. Horton missed the final five games of the regular season with an upper-body injury suffered in a fight against Penguins forward Jarome Iginla on April 20, but Tuesday marked the first time he practiced with his teammates after beginning skating last week.

Claude Julien said after player availability that Horton’s status would be determined Wednesday, but given that he skated on the first line and the fact that Horton said he expects to play, it would appear that the veteran right wing will indeed be in the lineup.

“I’m — I think I’m playing tomorrow,” Horton said. “Unless he says I’m not, I’m ready.”

That’s the good news for the B’s. The bad news is that Jaromir Jagr, who missed the last two games of the season with the flu, still isn’t feeling well.

“I feel like [expletive], man,” Jagr said after practicing on the third line with Chris Kelly and Kaspars Daugavins.

Jagr said that he didn’t feel well heading into last Tuesday’s game against the Flyers, but that he wanted to play against his former team. He then played against the Lightning on Thursday before being kept out of the lineup Saturday and Sunday.

“It’s the strongest flu I’ve ever had,” he said. “I couldn’t do anything.”

The 41-year-old said he wishes the the playoffs would begin on Thursday, but that he’s hoping to feel better by Wednesday night. He’s still expected to be in the lineup for Game 1 against the Maple Leafs.

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

Nathan Horton

The Bruins held their first practice of the postseason Tuesday at TD Garden, and the lines featured the return of Nathan Horton and some evidence that Rich Peverley could be in line for a healthy scratch in Game 1 against the Maple Leafs.

Horton has been skating since last week but has been out of game action since suffering an upper-body injury in a fight against Jarome Iginla on April 20. He skated on his normal line with David Krejci and Milan Lucic on Tuesday.

Peverley, meanwhile, practiced in a green jersey, which is worn by players not skating on the top four lines. The lines were as follows:

Lucic – Krejci – Horton
Marchand – Bergeron – Seguin
Daugavins – Kelly – Jagr
Paille – Campbell – Thornton

Extra forwards: Peverley, Soderberg, Pandolfo

Following the practice, Claude Julien said that the lines from Tuesday’s skate are no sure thing to be the lines for Game 1 on Wednesday night.

“That doesn’t mean that’s my lineup, just so you guys know,” he said. “I put some lines together today, but my lineup has not been done yet. It will get finalized tomorrow.”