Clifton has been a healthy scratch for the first four games of the season but will replace Matt Grzelcyk (leg) in the lineup on Saturday. The 25-year-old defenseman had just two goals in 31 games a season ago.
Aho, 24, spent all of 2020 in the AHL, where he led all Bridgeport defensemen with 30 points (3G / 27A) in 49 games. Aho is undersized (5-11, 177) but he's a terrific puck-mover and is not afraid to jump into the rush to create offence. He is a candidate to graduate to the NHL in 2021 but he's blocked by a bunch of high-paid veteran defensemen on the depth chart.
Crosby has been absent since getting hurt in Monday's scrimmage game. He skated on his own prior to their scrimmage on Thursday but was deemed "unfit to play." On Friday he joined his teammates for practice, which is a good sign that he'll be available for Game 1 vs. the Montreal Canadiens.
Crosby was left Saturday's scrimmage early and did not take part in Monday's intrasquad game. It's unclear how serious his injury is at this time but the Penguins' first playoff game isn't for 11 more days, so he has ample time to get back to 100 percent.
Nashville selected Novak all the way back in 2015 as a third-round pick. After finished his four years at the University of Minnesota, Novak joined the Predators AHL affiliate in Milwaukee where he eared an NHL contract by finishing second on the team in assists (31) and third in points (42) in 60 games.
Clifton has been out since December 29th but he will play Tuesday in Philadelphia with Torey Krug and Brandon Carlo both out with upper-body injuries. Clifton skated with Matt Grzelcyk in Monday's practice and comes into Tuesday's game with just two goals in 30 games.
Clifton skated in two games with Providence this weekend but returns to the Bruins where he has just two goals in 30 games this season.
