Bruins vs. Leafs Game 2 Lineup: Projected Lines, Pairings, Goalies originally appeared in NBC Sports Boston
The Toronto Maple Leafs need to win at least one game at TD Garden in the first round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs to eliminate the Boston Bruins.
They failed that chase Saturday night in Game 1.
The Bruins scored the first goal less than three minutes into the game and extended their lead to 4-0 late in the second period before winning 5-1.
The Leafs generated a 36-24 advantage in shots and a 38-21 advantage in scoring chances in the series opener, but were repeatedly thwarted by B’s goalie Jeremy Swayman.
Swayman made 35 saves and earned his fourth win over the Leafs since the start of this season. The real question for the Bruins is whether they will go back to him in Game 2 or use a rotation — as they did in the regular season — and start Linus Ullmark on Monday. The last time a Bruins goaltender started back-to-back games was Swayman on Feb. 19 and 21.
Montgomery admitted after Game 1 that it would be “difficult” to leave Swayman in Game 2.
“He had a fantastic game, we won 5-1. But if we decide to go with (Linus) Ullmark, we’ll be comfortable with that and our team will be comfortable with that,” Montgomery said.
Going back to Swayman for Game 2 and then starting Ullmark in Game 3 would make a lot of sense. But Montgomery has yet to reveal his final decision, so we may not know who will start until pregame warmups, which was the case on Saturday.
There is no need for the Bruins to make any lineup changes for Game 2. There were very few (if any) weaknesses in the lineup during the series opener. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
We could potentially see some changes to the Leafs lineup. Bringing right winger William Nylander back into the lineup would be a huge boost for Toronto. Nylander, who scored 40 goals in the regular season, missed Game 1 with an undisclosed issue. It was the first time he had missed a regular season or playoff game in seven years.
Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe did not give a definitive update on Nylander’s status Sunday. Therefore, at this time, it is unknown if Nylander will play in Game 2.
Will the Leafs consider a goalie change? Samsonov didn’t play well in Game 1, but he wasn’t one of the team’s three worst players. Joseph Woll is the backup and missed all three starts (12 goals allowed) against the Bruins in the regular season.
The bottom line is that the Leafs will need Samsonov to steal at least one game if they want to win this series. If he plays in Game 2, he will be under tremendous pressure to perform great and help the Leafs avoid an 0-2 hole.
Here are the projected lines and pairs for Game 2. The discus throw is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET at TD Garden. This article will be updated closer to the puck drop when the Bruins’ starting goaltender is revealed and there is an update on Nylander.
Boston Bruins (1-0)
Forwards
Danton Heinen – Pavel Zacha – David Pastrnak
Brad Marchand, Charlie McAvoy, Jake DeBrusk
Jakub Lauko – Morgan Geekie – Trent Frederic
John Beecher – Jesper Boqvist – Pat Maroon
Hampus Lindholm – Charlie McAvoy
Matt Grzelcyk – Brandon Carlo
Kevin Shattenkirk – Andrew Peeke
Goalkeepers
Jeremy Swayman/Linus Ullmark (tbd)
Toronto Maple Leafs (0-1)
Forwards
Tyler Bertuzzi – Auston Matthews – Max Domi
Matthew Knies – John Tavares – Mitch Marner
Nick Robertson – Pontus Holmberg – Calle Jarnkrok
Connor Dewar, David Kampf, Ryan Reaves
Defenders
Morgan Rielly-Ilya Lyubushkin
Simon Benoit – Jake McCabe
Joel Edmundson – Timothy Liljegren
Goalkeepers
Ilia Samsonov
José Woll
