A series-opening split in Florida was not the worst thing that could’ve happened to the Bruins in their second-round showdown with the Panthers.
In Florida on a quick turnaround following their Game 7 victory over the Maple Leafs last Saturday, the Bruins got back to work Monday (and without any sort of practice in between) and kicked things off with a 5-1 victory before suffering a series-tying beatdown by a 6-1 final on Wednesday night. Again, coming back home with home-ice advantage on your side and with the Panthers outscoring you by just one goal over that 120-minute sample was far from the worst thing that could’ve happened. And it’s probably far from the worst that many expected given the Panthers’ rest and the B’s breakneck speed of a schedule.
But now comes off pushing the series back in Boston’s favor, and for Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery, that’ll begin with some lineup tweaks for Friday’s Game 3 at TD Garden.
Jan 11, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Boston Bruins center Jakub Lauko (94) skates against the Vegas Golden Knights during the first period at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports
Up front, the B’s are expected to give Jakub Lauko what would be his first playoff look since Game 2 against Toronto.
An energy wing of the highest order, Lauko comes into Friday’s game expected to skate on a line with Johnny Beecher and Pat Maroon, and comes into play with 11 hits in 21:26 of total time on ice this postseason. It feels like Lauko’s role will be made clear: Seek, annoy, and destroy when you get the chance. One of Boston’s best forecheckers, Lauko clearly fits the mold of what the Bruins have viewed as an area of potential improvement for Game 3, with getting pucks behind the Florida defense and then tenderizing them with some hits and knocks that keep the puck pinned in their end and eventually lead to either a goal, a penalty, or some extended zone time.
Lauko has also been a tremendous penalty-drawing pest thanks to his dogged determination, and re-enters the playoff lineup having already drawn two penalties this postseason. And one of 454 NHL forwards to play at least 700 minutes over the last two seasons, Lauko has drawn 1.74 penalties per 60 minutes, which ranks 13th among that class of 454.
With Lauko expected in, Jesper Boqvist is slated to come out of the B’s lineup.
SUNRISE, FLORIDA – MARCH 26: Andrew Peeke #52 of the Boston Bruins skates against the Florida Panthers at Amerant Bank Arena on March 26, 2024 in Sunrise, Florida. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
And on the backend, the Bruins got some good news on the health front, with Andrew Peeke officially given the go-ahead to return the B’s lineup after missing the previous seven playoff games with an undisclosed injury.
Through two games of Boston’s first-round series with the Maple Leafs, the big-bodied Peeke had done his job on the B’s penalty kill, with what was at the time a team-leading two hits and two blocked shots in 4:49 of shorthanded time on ice (third-most among all Bruins). And Peeke’s most notable contribution on the penalty kill came in a Game 1 4-on-3 kill that saw him out there for all but about 10 seconds of a 1:50 kill.
Peeke, who grew up a Panthers fan and had season tickets to the club, put up two assists, along with 44 hits and 31 blocked shots, in a 15-game post-deadline run with the Bruins during the regular season.
May 8, 2024; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Bruins defenseman Derek Forbort (28) controls the puck against the Panthers during the first period in game two of the second round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Amerant Bank Arena. (Sam Navarro/USA TODAY Sports)
And with Peeke expected back in, the Bruins will most likely with a pairing that we have seen for a grand total of zero minutes and zero seconds this year, with Parker Wotherspoon projected as a scratch and Derek Forbort slated to remain in the lineup and skate to Peeke’s left on the Black and Gold’s third pairing.
After what was a clean Game 1 effort, Forbort is among those looking to rebound for Game 3, as he finished Game 2 with a minus-2 rating to go with three blocks and four hits in 18:48 of time on ice.
Given that this is a pairing that simply hasn’t seen the ice together at any point, it’ll be interesting to see how the Bruins plan on deploying them. It projects to be a purely defensive role, one would imagine, but their connectivity and their fit as a duo will be worth watching early and often in this contest. And in the chance that they do not mesh together, the Bruins may very well be in a rather bizarre spot of having to roll with five defensemen, as Forbort hasn’t really gelled with right-shooting options such as Charlie McAvoy and Brandon Carlo in the past.
SUNRISE, FLORIDA – MAY 08: Jeremy Swayman #1 of the Bruins walks off the ice during the third period against the Panthers in Game 2 of of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Amerant Bank Arena on May 08, 2024. (Photo by Joel Auerbach/Getty Images)
One move that Montgomery is keeping close to the vest, however, is in goal, as he has opted not to disclose his starting goaltender ahead of tonight’s Game 3 at TD Garden.
Montgomery is coming off a Game 2 that saw him pull Jeremy Swayman early in the third period after the Panthers made it 4-1, but the second-year B’s coach also made it clear that the loss was not on Swayman.
“Swayman was terrific,” Montgomery said following his team’s 6-1 loss to the Panthers. “I thought about taking him out at 3-1 going into the third. And then when the fourth goal went in, I was like, ‘I’m taking him out now.’ He made two great saves before [the fourth goal] went in.”
Speaking after the loss, Swayman made multiple references to Friday night, and the built-in rest of getting the majority of the third period off in Game 2 would seemingly indicate that he’ll get the call in Game 3.
