There’s not a Bernard or Susan on his playoff roster, but Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery has found some entertainment with his own personal game of “Guess Who?” in regards to his lineup decisions.
Montgomery already pulled a ‘Wordle’ hint when it came to his starter in goal earlier in the series, and the intrigue is not going to end ahead of what’s a potential knockout game for his club Tuesday night at TD Garden.
“Not that I’m aware of yet,” Montgomery, whose team holds a 3-1 series lead over the Maple Leafs after a road sweep last week, said when asked if there were going to be any lineup changes for Game 5. “There might be. Or it might be the exact same lineup.”
Feb 24, 2024; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Boston Bruins defenseman Derek Forbort (28) awaits the start of play against the Vancouver Canucks during the second period at Rogers Arena. (Anne-Marie Sorvin/USA TODAY Sports)
Forbort, for what it’s worth, appeared in two AHL games late in the regular season on a conditioning assignment, but has not suited up for an NHL contest since a Mar. 2 loss on Long Island. And Forbort’s regular season was one to forget, really, as the 6-foot-3 defenseman was unable to overcome the multiple injuries that both limited his play and required two separate surgical procedures not even two months ago.
Going from zero to 100 is an undeniable risk, especially for a lineup that’s won two straight games, and had definite shades of last year when Montgomery tinkered his lineup to hell with the Bruins up 3-1 on the Panthers.
“You don’t want to change things just to change things,” Montgomery admitted. “But if you think your team can get better because of matchups or because of history with players and where you think they might be best utilized to help the Bruins, that’s when you look at potentially making changes.”
When his game is going, the Bruins appreciate Forbort as a go-to piece on their penalty kill, and his shot-blocking qualities have long been lauded as his best attribute. And knowing and accepting that the Bruins are less of a puck possession team this year than they were a year ago when they had Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci serving as their spinal cord down the middle, Montgomery & Co. have embraced their identity as more of a shot-blocking team.
The Bruins are also coming off a two-game stretch that featured 51 blocked shots in total, and their penalty kill has killed off 13 of Toronto’s 14 power-play opportunities through four games this season. The idea of going to Forbort could be a ‘killshot’ kind of move if the Bruins want more blocks and more kills to frustrate the Leafs into a handshake line.
Oct 14, 2023; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Nashville Predators right wing Luke Evangelista (77) skates against Boston Bruins defenseman Derek Forbort (28) during the first period at the TD Garden. (Brian Fluharty/USA TODAY Sports)
The Bruins also, at some point, need to know if Forbort is truly going to be an option for them down the stretch. But given that the Bruins have been here before and experienced downright disastrous results, Montgomery isn’t going to let that be the sole reason for any changes he does or does not make for Game 5.
“We’re just staying in the moment and the urgency for tonight’s game is all we’re thinking about,” Montgomery said. “We’ll cross that bridge [for the next round] if it happens.”
And based on what followed after Montgomery’s five-minute meeting with the media, that urgency may lead to another spectator-only night for Forbort. As the Bruins closed their locker room following media availability, many of the players who took part in the morning skate had already showered and left the rink. Or, at the very least, were off the ice.
But Forbort, along with Shattenkirk and Jakub Lauko, remained on the ice, along with Linus Ullmark. That’s work typically reserved for players who are expected to sit as scratches (or be the backup in the case of Ullmark).
Dec 19, 2023; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins defenseman Matt Grzelcyk (48) during the third period against the Minnesota Wild at TD Garden. (Winslow Townson/USA TODAY Sports)
So, playing another round of Monty’s Guess Who, it would appear that Matt Grzelcyk is in line to return to the Black and Gold’s lineup after sitting out the last two games as a healthy scratch.
Deployed for 18:30 in Boston’s Game 2 loss, the 5-foot-9 Grzelcyk absorbed three hits and was ‘credited’ with one giveaway, and was also whistled for an interference penalty that led to a John Tavares power-play goal. It felt like the Maple Leafs had targeted Grzelcyk on the forecheck, too, and laid into him at every stop and turn.
If Grzelcyk is indeed back in the lineup, the Bruins will have more left-side versatility, as Grzelcyk has extensive experience playing with both Charlie McAvoy and Brandon Carlo, and even logged 42 minutes with Parker Wotherspoon during the regular season.
TORONTO, CANADA – MARCH 4: Justin Brazeau #55 of the Boston Bruins skates against the Toronto Maple Leafs during the first period in an NHL game at Scotiabank Arena on March 4, 2024 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Claus Andersen/Getty Images)
The Bruins will also have a decision — or decisions, rather — to make up front when it comes their forward deployment.
Montgomery seemingly has two spots for three guys between Johnny Beecher, Danton Heinen, and the freshly-cleared Justin Brazeau. Four for three if you want to include James van Riemsdyk in the conversation.
Beecher’s lineup spot should be relatively secure due to his faceoff prowess, with wins in 17 of his 31 faceoffs (54.8 percent) this postseason, though Beecher is coming off a 1-for-7 effort at the dot in Game 4. And the veteran van Riemsdyk scored the B’s first goal of the night in Boston’s Game 4 victory. That should, in theory, buy him some additional time in the Black and Gold lineup. Heinen, meanwhile, is clearly dealing with something, as he’s been given a pair of maintenance days in the last week alone. That has not stopped Heinen from suiting up for games, however, and Heinen delivered the primary helper on Brad Marchand’s game-winning goal in Game 3.
But the Bruins have been impressed with Brazeau, who has not played since Apr. 2, in just about every outing to date this season, and the 6-foot-5 wing has rewarded that trust with five goals and seven points in 19 outings. Brazeau also fits the bill as someone who gets to ‘good ice’ and plays a simple game, which is something the Bruins have routinely circled as part of their strategies to score against this Toronto squad.
In other words, expect the latest “Guess Who?” to rage on until pregame warmups, as has been tradition.
