Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said he understands the second-guessing he’s received about his Game 5 lineup decisions, but he’s comfortable with the choices he made — Matt Grzelcyk for Kevin Shattenkirk and Justin Brazeau in for Johnny Beecher — that have come under some scrutiny.
“When it doesn’t work out I’m going to be second-guessed and third and fourth-guessed. Rightfully so. It comes with the territory,” he said Wednesday. “I’m comfortable with the decisions I made and why I made them and the criticism that comes with it.”
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But hindsight aside, he’s got bigger decisions to make now for Game 6 on Thursday night in Toronto as the Bruins attempt to close out the Maple Leafs.
Forward: Justin Brazeau, James van Riemsdyk, Johnny Beecher, and Jakub Lauko for two spots
Danton Heinen wasn’t in the Bruins’ initial lineup on Tuesday and has missed practice because of something undisclosed. If he, or some other forward is injured, that answers part of the question.
But assuming he’s in, the top six is likely Brad Marchand, Charlie Coyle and Morgan Geekie on the first line and Pavel Zacha, David Pastrnak and Jake DeBrusk on the second. Heinen, Trent Frederic, Jesper Boqvist and Pat Maroon will certainly be on the third and fourth lines in some arrangement. That leaves Johnny Beecher, Justin Brazeau, James van Riemsdyk and Jakub Lauko for two spots.
Montgomery said conflicting things related to Beecher on Wednesday. He said Beecher has a history of thriving when he comes back from sitting and said that a team’s faceoff success and postseason success rarely correspond.
But in a game where Toronto has last-change, Beecher winning a faceoff can help negate an unfavorable matchup.
That would leave one spot on the third line. Lauko seems unlikely. Brazeau was better than van Riemsdyk when both were healthy late in the year. But Brazeau, in Montgomery’s words, looked rusty in Game 5. He said he expected him to be better in a second game, but that’s an extrapolation based on other players’ progression from sitting out.
“His wall work wasn’t as good as what it was usually. He still had some good offensive plays,” he said. “He didn’t get to his spots where he can hang on to pucks. If he gets the opportunity to play against tomorrow night we expect him to be better.”
Van Riemsdyk scored a big goal in Game 4. Was that the sign of a breakout or simply a one-off? Some of this could be determined by Montgomery’s playoff plan and whether or not he wants van Riemsdyk or Brazeau as a net-front player and whether he’s using the super power play unit or the split up 1A and 1B units.
Defense: Kevin Shattenkirk, Matt Grzelcyk, Derek Forbort, Parker Wotherspoon and Mason Lohrei for three spots
Brandon Carlo wasn’t out for overtime in Game 5. Montgomery said he’s fine, but it bears monitoring. It would be surprising if Lohrei and Wotherspoon, who have been solid aren’t back.
It’s hard to picture Grzelcyk getting back into the lineup in this series unless there’s an injury. After Game 5, Montgomery might be more likely to turn to Forbort despite two months of inaction than go back to Grzelcyk, who has just had a lost year. Most likely he plays Shattenkirk in hopes of getting the boost the veteran has provided each time he’s come off added rest, especially on the power play.
Goalie: Jeremy Swayman or Linus Ullmark
It would be stunning if Montgomery didn’t start Swayman, who has been outstanding but there is a dark option to consider. What if Swayman starts and the Bruins lose 4-1 or something similar in Game 6? Then what? Would he go back to Ullmark for Game 7?
This is a denser workload than Swayman has seen. Game 7 would be his third game in five days with two flights in between. Then Montgomery is choosing between a possibly tired Swayman and a possibly rusty Ullmark with the season on the line.
