Bigger roles?

As previously discussed, both Jeff Halpern and Fredrik Modin will remain in “bottom six” roles tonight, with Halpern centering the fourth line and Modin playing left wing on the third line. It doesn’t mean, though, that both players won’t contribute in other areas. Both guys had a couple penalty-killing shifts in Thursday’s game, and it’s possible that their penalty-killing roles will expand tonight.

Terry Murray also raised the possibility of power-play roles for Halpern and Modin. I’d have to think that Modin is the more likely candidate. Murray has spoken about his hesitancy to play forwards on the point on the power play — although he does it often with Jarret Stoll — but Modin’s strong slap shot might make him an interesting component on the power play. Here’s what Murray said about Halpern and Modin on special teams…

MURRAY: “They both bring the ability to play on special teams. I’m hoping that we can continue to push them into those kind of minutes. They know how to do it. They will relieve some of our top guys, keep them fresh as we move through. It’s going to be very demanding and hectic and fun, so I’m looking not only for penalty killing but also to get them out there with some power-play time.”