OTTAWA — Joe Morrow has not played for the Bruins since Jan. 22. He has not played a game of any kind since a three-game conditioning stint in Providence from Feb. 24-26.

But this afternoon at the Canadian Tire Centre, Morrow will most likely step into the white hot spotlight of the Stanley Cup playoffs in Game 2 of the first-round series against the Senators.

Colin Miller, who took a leg-on-leg hit from Ottawa’s Mark Borowiecki in Wednesday’s 2-1 Bruins victory, tried to skate in practice yesterday but left about halfway through. He’s expected to join Torey Krug (lower body) and Brandon Carlo (upper body) as the third defenseman on the shelf.

Enter Morrow, the last remaining piece of the Tyler Seguin trade who has strong skating and puck-handling skills but has never found the consistency to stay in the lineup. And lately, he seemed like a forgotten man.

Asked just how rusty he felt, Morrow couldn’t help but chuckle.

“I skate every day and you work your way to this point. Whether I’m in or out, I have no idea but I’ve been ready all year,” he said. “It’s kind of the same process I’ve been through all year. So I don’t feel rusty at all. I skate with these guys every day in practice. Whether it happens or not, I’ll be ready for it.”

While the 24-year-old Morrow may espouse the “what-me-worry?” attitude, this will be a tough task.

“It’s always a concern coming into the lineup at this time of year for a young guy, whether you’ve played or not. He’s going to have to get himself into the game in a hurry,” said interim coach Bruce Cassidy. “We’d expect there to be some rust, for lack of a better term. Guys have done it and he’ll have to do it. He’s been here and skating. He has not been injured, so that part of it will be fine. It will be just the mental part of it and getting up to speed.”

Cassidy did not rule out calling someone up from Providence, but that seems unlikely. The AHL club played at Lehigh Valley last night, and it would be a tough turnaround for a 3 p.m. matinee in Ottawa.

“At this juncture, it would probably be Joe, simply because he’s played for us, and we’re confident in him,” Cassidy said. “We could change our mind obviously, but that’s the way we’re (leaning).”

In practice, Morrow was paired with his old Providence partner Kevan Miller, and Cassidy said they were a good shutdown pair at the AHL level.

Morrow has played just 17 games this year, notching one assist and posting a minus-4. He thought that he might get a chance to play when Cassidy replaced Claude Julien behind the bench on Feb. 7, but it never happened. He admitted to feeling a bit forgotten.

“It has been a long time. I’m still out here every day and you’re family here in the dressing room. The guys on the team definitely don’t act like I’ve been forgotten,” said Morrow. “But, sure, I think anyone would feel like that. I think it’s a pretty common thing for someone to go through when you haven’t played in however long it’s been, that people would start to forget about you. But that’s the way it goes. That’s sports.”

He has never questioned his current lot in life.

“You can, but it’s not going to solve any of your problems. I stopped asking questions a long time ago and just dealt with the circumstances,” Morrow said. “Being negative and thinking ‘Why me, why am I in this situation?’ is not going to help anybody. You come to the rink every day and you’re blessed to be here with these guys and wake up and try to get better if your chance comes.”

Morrow could help. He would give the B’s three left-handed shots and three right-handed shots on the blue line. He believes his skating ability could open passing lanes and help break though Ottawa’s neutral zone trap. Harkening back to his days in the Memorial Cup with the Portland Winterhawks, Morrow believes the postseason brings the best out of him.

“I’ve always been a playoff player. That’s where I kind of shine,” he said. “And that’s what I plan to do.”

Confidence, at least, is not an issue.