Here are the lineup changes that could await the Bruins in Game 1 (2024)

Bruins

"Well, you know, we always said that we had a plan in place, and that continues for this series,"coach Jim Montgomery said ahead of Monday's Game 1 vs. the Panthers.

By Tim Rosenthal

updated on May 6, 2024

SUNRISE, Fla. — The Boston Bruins arrived in South Florida hoping to carry over the momentum from their latestthrilling Game 7 winover the Toronto Maple Leafs two nights ago. But a quick turnover awaits with a two-day layover intoRound 2 against the Panthers.

The tight scheduling isn’t the only turnaround the Bruins will face entering Monday’s series opener.

Indeed, Monday’s skate featured a handful of developments involving potential lineup changes and a member of the Bruins adding another member to his family. Let’s dive into the top items of discussion following Boston’s pre-series training session at Amerant Bank Arena.

Bruins ‘hopeful’ Brandon Carlo arrives following new addition to his ‘Crew’

Brandon Carlo stayed in Boston just hours after Game 7 with a newborn on the way. By early Monday morning, Carlo and his wife, Mayson, welcomed a baby boy into the world.

“First off here,” head coach Jim Montgomery said, “I want to congratulate Brandon and Mayson on the new addition to their family, Crew.”

With Carlo at home attending to the newest member of his family, the Bruins altered their second and third defensive duos during morning line rushes.

Parker Wotherspoon moved up to the second pair next toHampus Lindholm. The latter came off one of his best 200-foot performances of the season in Game 7, highlighted by his tying marker in the third and his crafty assist onDavid Pastrnak’s overtime winner.

Derek Forbort took Wotherspoon’s spot on Boston’s third pair next to Kevin Shattenkirk. Forbort was recently cleared for full contact by the Bruins training staff after a surprisingly quick recovery from his surgery to heal multiple nagging injuries.

Andrew Peeke continues to make progress after sustaining a lower-body injury in Game 2 against the Leafs, but the Floridian blueliner isn’t an option for Monday.

Matt Grzelcyk, who last skated in Game 5, joins Forbort as potential replacements for Carlo. Montgomery didn’t have any definitive update on Carlo’s status for Game 1 against Florida but remains “hopeful” that he’ll rejoin his fellow Boston crew members ahead of the scheduled 8 p.m. puck drop.

Patrick Brown goes from Game 7 spectator to potential fourth-line contributor.

Like the rest of the hub, Brown remained on the edge of his seat, riding the emotions of Boston’s Game 7 win.

The very next day, Brown received a phone call from Don Sweeney confirming his promotion from Providence on an emergency basis.

“That was an awesome game,” Brown said. “I was watching. I was getting goosebumps watching all that time ago. So I think you know it’s an awesome motivator, and we’re playing for each other and saw that in the wins and losses this year.”

Brown should also feel motivated about his recent outings in Providence.

The veteran forward tallied points in his last seven games, including three in the first two Calder Cup playoff tilts of the Baby B’s Atlantic Division semifinals series against Hartford.

Brown replaced Jesper Boqvist as the centerman on Boston’s fourth line alongside Johnny Beecher, who saw some time together on a line in Providence earlier this year, and Pat Maroon during line rushes.

“The execution effort, his game every time he’s played for us like it’s tremendous, right?” Montgomery said of Brown. “Second and third effort, strong on pucks, wins a lot of battles and his execution of how we want to play. He knows exactly what we’re doing in every situation.”

The pre-series plan for Boston’s goalie rotation continues.

The Bruins stuck with their goaltending rotation at the beginning of the first round. But after another stellar outing from Game 1 starter Jeremy Swayman in Game 3, the B’s rode the fourth-year netminder through the rest of the Toronto series.

They had every reason to alter their plans involving Swayman and Linus Ullmark. And Swayman made the most of his extensive run, allowing just nine goals in his six starts against the Maple Leafs.

Now,they have every reasonto give Swayman a breather.

Ullmark hasn’t startedsince Game 2against Toronto two weeks ago. But the Panthers also enter Game 1 a bit rusty after securing their series win over the Tampa Bay Lightning last Monday.

Like Swayman against the Leafs, Ullmark provided stellar regular season results against Florida. After battling wear and tear at the latter half of last year’s first-round matchup, the Swede posted a .947 save percentage and went a perfect 3-0 against the Panthers.

Yet, if the morning developments are anything to go by, the Bruins may go right back to Swayman. He was the first one off the ice following the morning skate, while Ullmark remained on the ice with the extra skaters.

Montgomery wouldn’t commit to naming his Game 1 starter. But like the leadup to the Toronto series, they have an idea of how to manage Swayman’s and Ullmark’s workload ahead of time.

“Well, you know, we always said that we had a plan in place, and that continues for this series,”Montgomery said. “It’s the same plan we had, and we should know that there’s something to consider in the number of games we’re playing. And the fact that neither goalie has played that many games in such a short amount of time, and then you have the added adrenaline and emotion of the Stanley Cup playoffs, all factors in our decision.”