Bruins vs. Panthers Game 6 lineup: Projected lines, pairings, goalies

Bruins vs. Panthers Game 6 lineup: Projected lines, pairings, goalies originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The Boston Bruins staved off elimination with a 2-1 victory over the Florida Panthers on the road in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference second-round series. Can they do it again on home ice Friday night in Game 6?

Home ice has been anything but an advantage for the Bruins in recent playoff runs. They have won just three of their last 10 playoff games at TD Garden, including a five-game losing streak to the Panthers dating back to last year’s first-round series.

The major storyline for the Bruins entering Game 6 is the status of captain Brad Marchand. He practiced Thursday and took part in drills. Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery said after Friday’s morning skate that Marchand is a “game-time decision.”

UPDATE (12:20 p.m. ET): In an interview with 7 News’ Steve Cooper on Friday morning, Marchand’s mother suggested that Marchand expects to play in Game 6.

Marchand hasn’t played since the second period of Game 3. He suffered an upper body injury after getting hit in the head on a controversial play by Panthers center Sam Bennett in the first period of that game. Bennett was not penalized, fined or suspended for the hit.

Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman is expected to start his 11th game in a row, which would extend his career high. He played fantastic in Game 5, making 28 saves on 29 shots, including a season-saving stop in the final seconds of the third period. He leads all playoff goaltenders with a .933 save percentage.

There are no major lineup changes expected for the Panthers.

Here are the projected lineups for Bruins-Panthers Game 6.

Boston Bruins (2-3)

Forwards

If Marchand plays…

Jake DeBrusk–Morgan Geekie–David Pastrnak

Brad Marchand–Charlie Coyle–Trent Frederic

Danton Heinen–Pavel Zacha–Justin Brazeau

James van Riemsdyk–John Beecher–Pat Maroon

If Marchand doesn’t play…

Jake DeBrusk–Morgan Geekie–David Pastrnak

James van Riemsdyk–Pavel Zacha–Justin Brazeau

Danton Heinen–Charlie Coyle–Trent Frederic

Jakub Lauko–John Beecher–Pat Maroon

Defensemen

Hampus Lindholm–Charlie McAvoy

Mason Lohrei–Brandon Carlo

Parker Wotherspoon–Andrew Peeke

Goalie

Jeremy Swayman

Florida Panthers (3-2)

Forwards

Vladimir Tarasenko–Aleksander Barkov–Sam Reinhart

Carter Verhaeghe–Sam Bennett–Matthew Tkachuk

Eetu Luostarinen–Anton Lundell–Evan Rodrigues

Steven Lorentz–Kevin Stenlund–Kyle Okposo

Defensemen

Gustav Forsling–Aaron Ekblad

Niko Mikkola–Brandon Montour

Oliver Ekman-Larsson–Dmitry Kulikov

Goalie

Sergei Bobrovsky