Bruins add some muscle to their lineup off the back of the Kevan Miller injury.

The Boston Bruins may be looking to send a message in Game 5 of their first round Stanley Cup Playoff series against the Washington Capitals, one that goes beyond simply eliminating the Capitals from playoff contention with a win on Sunday.

On Sunday the Bruins released their official lineup for Game 5 and a notable addition to the lineup was the presence of veteran National Hockey League enforcer Jarred Tinordi. In spite of the fact that he suited up in just 14 games for the Bruins during the regular season, Tinordi has made his impact on this Bruins lineup at key moments and that includes against the Washington Capitals themselves.

Following a big hit from Capitals forward Tom Wilson back in March, Tinordi went out of his way to take on Wilson who is widely regarded as one of the toughest men in the league these days. In spite of the fact that Tinordi had only recently been claimed on waivers by the Bruins and despite the fact that he was appearing in just his second game for the Bruins, Tinordi was quick to come to the defense of teammate Brandon Carlo who had been laid out by a hit from Wilson earlier in the same game.

I suspect that Tinordi has been injected to the line up this evening for a similar reason. Bruins defenseman Kevan Miller was knocked out of the Bruins lineup in Game 4 of this series when he was the victim of a hit from Washington's Dmitry Orlov. The hit, which appeared to see Orlov get his hands up high on Miller, left the Bruins defenseman in pretty bad shape. Miller would be taken to hospital following the hit and even had to spend the night in hospital before eventually being released the next day.

Not only was Miller kept overnight in hospital, but the injury has also forced him out of the lineup for tonight's Game 5 which has opened up a spot for Tinordi to step into the lineup. More than simply being a replacement for Miller though, I suspect that Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy has brought in Tinordi in the hopes that the veteran enforcer will look to settle the score for injuring Miller much in the way that he did earlier in the season when it came to the hit on Brandon Carlo.