April 09--Ducks Coach Bruce Boudreau won't publicly commit to who'll play on what line and who will be paired on defense in the postseason -- or even which goalie will start Game 1.
He admitted that's partially because things remain in flux.
"I think it is [set] and then we have games we're not consistent and then you sit there and say, 'Is that the right guy?' " Boudreau said. "We ask the question [about who'll play where and who'll sit] an awful lot and the difference isn't very much.... It's almost set, but anything can happen between now and next week.
"For some, it's the body of work. For some, it's how they've trended in the last five to 10 games. If they're trending down and they've played bad the last 10 games, they might be somebody who we say, 'He can't start, somebody else is playing better than him.' "
Thursday's practice was a mishmash with Ryan Getzlaf absent. The only line that appeared to be set was the second line of center Ryan Kesler and forwards Matt Beleskey and Kyle Palmieri.
Defenseman James Wisniewski, a healthy scratch Wednesday, said rest as the playoffs near is a delicate balance.
"You don't want to get rusty," Wisniewski said. "Getting your body nice, healthy and rested for a heavy two months here, hopefully, is key.
"You want to get to the good stuff, but you can't just overlook stuff and think you'll just turn it on when you need to. You've got to make sure you play hard every shift. One more game, so let's go out and play hard and clinch the Western Conference."
