Ryder should return/By S. Bradley

We know the Bruins’ forward alignment tonight in Nashville will be definitely be different than it was in Columbus Tuesday.

The defense pairs could change as well when the Bruins take on the Predators tonight at 8 p.m. EST.

With Brad Marchand suspended, Michael Ryder should be back in there after he was a healthy scratch for the win over the Blue Jackets. Ryder, Rich Peverley or Tyler Seguin seem like the most likely candidates to move up to the second line with Patrice Bergeron and Mark Recchi — the pair of forwards Marchand practiced with yesterday.

The Bruins have to hope that in his mind, Ryder has a better understanding of why he was benched than he let on in public. In the Boston Globe today, Ryder sounded like a guy who think he’s done nothing wrong. Ryder was quoted:

“I didn’t think I was playing bad bad. I thought I was skating pretty well. It’s just that people thought this was the best way to go about it, I guess.’’

Not sure what Ryder’s definition of “bad” is, but obviously head coach Claude Julien had a different opinion of the winger’s play to finally scratch him after a season and two thirds of inconsistent play.

On the back end, Adam McQuaid should be available, according to Julien, who spoke after the team’s optional morning skate. McQuaid left practice early yesterday because he was banged up. Recovering defenseman Andrew Ference could also feel well enough to play, so the Bruins might have a decision to make after warm-ups.

The optional nature of practice made it impossible to determine the starting goaltender, so we’ll find out in a few hours.