Bruins vs. Bruins Game 3 Lineup Panthers: projected lines, pairings, goaltenders originally appeared in NBC Sports Boston
The Bruins and Panthers both won unequal victories about the first two games of the Eastern Conference second-round playoff series in Florida. Now each team has the opportunity to take control of the series entering the all-important Game 3 at TD Garden on Friday night.
The Panthers won three of four games in Boston during the first round last season, including overtime wins in Games 5 and 7. They should have a lot of confidence playing in this building.
The Bruins’ power play was on fire at the start of the first round and scored six goals in 13 opportunities in the first four games against the Toronto Maple Leafs. But this unit has really struggled with zero goals and just seven shots on the man advantage over the last five games. Boston’s power play is 0-5 in the first two games of the second round. This unit needs to step up for the Bruins to keep up with the Panthers’ powerful offense.
No major lineup changes are expected for the Bruins in Game 3, but it is possible to see Jakub Lauko play somewhere in the bottom six. The 24-year-old forward hasn’t played since Game 2 of the first round, but he plays with the kind of physicality and speed that the Bruins could use more of in this series. He is also good at taking penalties.
Bruins coach Jim Montgomery told reporters after Friday’s morning skate that Danton Heinen (undisclosed injury) is still day to day. Montgomery also noted that the defender Andrew Peeke is available for Game 3. It’s unknown if Peeke will return to the lineup on Friday, but his physicality and penalty kill would be valuable on the third pairing. Peeke suffered an injury in Game 2 against the Leafs and hasn’t played since.
Montgomery has not revealed which goaltender will start Game 3. Jeremy Swayman would be the top choice.
Although he allowed four goals in Game 2, none of them were his fault, and the score would have been much more lopsided had he not made some big saves in the first period. Montgomery pulled Swayman after the Panthers extended their lead to 4-1 early in the third period Wednesday, so fatigue shouldn’t be a big factor for the 25-year-old goaltender.
Swayman has a .942 save percentage as of Friday, which ranks first in the playoffs among all goaltenders who have played four or more games.
Panthers coach Paul Maurice told reporters after his team’s morning skate that center Sam Bennett It’s a game time decision. Bennett hasn’t played since Game 2 of the first round due to injury.
Here are the projected lineups for Game 3 of Bruins-Panthers.
Boston Bruins (1-1)
Forwards
Brad Marchand – Charlie Coyle – Jake DeBrusk
Pavel Zacha – Morgan Geekie – David Pastrnak
James van Riemsdyk – Trent Frederic – Justin Brazeau
Jakub Lauko – John Beecher – Pat Maroon
Mason Lohrei – Charlie McAvoy
Hampus Lindholm – Brandon Carlo
Derek Forbort – Andrew Peeke
Goalkeeper
Jeremy Swayman
Florida Panthers (1-1)
Forwards
Vladimir Tarasenko-Aleksander Barkov-Sam Reinhart
Carter Verhaeghe-Anton Lundell-Matthew Tkachuk
Eetu Luostarinen – Kevin Stenlund – Evan Rodrigues
Nick Cousins – Steven Lorentz – Kyle Okposo
Defenders
Gustav Forsling – Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola – Brandon Montour
Oliver Ekman-Larsson – Dmitry Kulikov
Goalkeeper
Sergei Bobrovsky
