The injured Andrew Peeke (out since Sport 2 vs. Toronto) and Danton Heinen (out since Sport 5 in opposition to the Maple Leafs) have been each full individuals in Monday’s morning skate and are “getting shut,” per Montgomery.
“They’re making steps. Not there but. Dominated out for tonight,” mentioned Montgomery.
In relation to who will get the beginning between the pipes, Montgomery mentioned the Bruins will follow their plan.
“We all the time mentioned that we had a plan in place,” mentioned Montgomery. “That continues for this sequence, the identical plan we had. There’s one thing to contemplate is the variety of video games we’re taking part in and the truth that neither of our goalies performed that many video games in such a brief period of time. After which you’ve gotten the added adrenaline and emotion of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. All of it components into our decision-making.”
Opposing View
Projected Florida Lineup (per FloridaPanthers.com):
FORWARDS
Carter Verhaeghe – Aleksander Barkov – Matthew Tkachuk
Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Sam Reinhart
Evan Rodrigues – Kevin Stenlund – Vladimir Tarasenko
Nick Cousins – Steven Lorentz – Kyle Okposo
DEFENSEMEN
Gustav Forsling – Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola – Brandon Montour
Oliver Ekman-Larsson – Dmitry Kulikov
GOALIES
Sergei Bobrovsky
Anthony Stolarz
Coach Paul Maurice mentioned the injured Sam Bennet – sidelined since April 23 – will stay out for Sport 1 and is taken into account day-to-day.
The Panthers have 13 gamers – similar because the Bruins – that participated in final spring’s first-round showdown. Florida ranked eleventh within the league in scoring this season (3.23 targets per sport), three spots forward of the Bruins (3.21). They have been eighth on the ability play (23.5%) and tied with the Bruins for sixth on the penalty kill (82.5%).
Defensively, Florida was tied with the Winnipeg Jets for the bottom targets in opposition to per sport (2.41) this season.
“I believe we’ve obtained to create extra offense, however we’re taking part in the No. 1 defensive crew 5-on-5,” mentioned Montgomery. “So, it’s not gonna be simpler however we’ve obtained to be tougher offensively, I believe plenty of Sport 3 [against Toronto], the best way we performed offensively. I believed we have been extra decided within the laborious areas. I believe that’s gonna be actually necessary.”
Sam Reinhart led the Panthers – and ranked second within the league behind Toronto Auston Matthews – with a career-high 57 targets to associate with 94 factors, whereas Matthew Tkachuk (26-62—88) and Aleksander Barkov (23-57—80) additionally hit the 80-point plateau. Carter Verhaeghe was second on the Panthers with 34 targets and fourth with 72 factors.
Barkov was lately named a finalist for the Selke Trophy for third time within the final 4 seasons. He received the award in 2021.
“He’s a hell of a participant. Possibly if Patrice hadn’t been taking part in, he’d have received [more] by now,” mentioned Bruins basic supervisor Don Sweeney. “Nevertheless it’s a credit score to him as a hockey participant. He’s a frontrunner for his or her hockey membership and we’ve got to respect the opponent…a extremely good hockey participant and a catalyst for his or her crew, so we’re gonna have to concentrate on him and what he brings to the desk.”
Six different gamers registered double-digits targets: Sam Bennett, 20; Anton Lundell, 13; Eetu Luostarinen, 12; Evan Rodrigues, 12; Kevin Stenlund, 11; and Gustsav Forsling, 10.
In Florida’s five-game, first-round sequence win over Tampa, Verhaeghe paced the Panthers with 5 targets and 9 factors. Tkachuk (three targets, six assists) additionally had 9 factors within the sequence.
Vezina finalist Sergei Bobrovsky was 36-17-4 with a .915 save proportion and a pair of.37 targets in opposition to common in 58 video games in 2023-24. Backup Anthony Stolarz was 16-7-2 with a .925 and a pair of.03 GAA. Within the first spherical, Bobrovsky performed in all 5 video games (4-1) and allowed 14 targets on 135 photographs (.896 save proportion; 2.78 GAA).
“Very comparable crew, their depth is there,” mentioned Sweeney. “They play the proper means, they don’t quit plenty of scoring possibilities. The sequence needs to be tight. Energy play is nice. Bobrovsky’s performed nicely, Stolarz has performed nicely. It’s a hell of an opponent and I believe we all know one another fairly nicely and what our strengths are. It’s simply gonna come right down to successful the small areas of the sport that usually translate all through a sequence and hopefully we discover a approach to persevere this 12 months.”