Bruins vs. Leafs Game 2 lineup: Projected lines, pairings, goalies originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
The Toronto Maple Leafs have to win at least one game at TD Garden in the first round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs to eliminate the Boston Bruins.
They failed in that pursuit Saturday night in Game 1.
The Bruins scored the opening goal less than three minutes into the game and grew their lead to 4-0 by the end of the second period before ultimately winning 5-1.
The Leafs generated a 36-24 edge in shots and a 38-21 advantage in scoring chances in the series opener, but they were stymied time and time again by B’s goalie Jeremy Swayman.
Swayman made 35 saves and earned his fourth victory over the Leafs since the beginning of this season. The real question for the Bruins is whether they go back to him for Game 2 or use a rotation — like they did in the regular season — and start Linus Ullmark on Monday. The last time a Bruins goalie started back-to-back games was Swayman on Feb. 19 and Feb. 21.
Montgomery admitted after Game 1 that it would be “hard” to go away from Swayman in Game 2.
“He played a terrific game, we win 5-1. But if we decide to go with (Linus) Ullmark, we’re comfortable with it and our team’s comfortable with it,” Montgomery said.
Going back to Swayman for Game 2 and then starting Ullmark in Game 3 would make a lot of sense. But Montgomery still hasn’t revealed his final decision, so we might not learn who is starting until pre-game warmups, which was the case Saturday.
There’s no need for the Bruins to make any lineup changes for Game 2. There were very few (if any) weak spots in the lineup during the series opener. If it’s not broken, don’t fix it.
We could potentially see some lineup changes for the Leafs. Getting star right wing William Nylander back in the lineup would be a huge boost for Toronto. Nylander, who scored 40 goals in the regular season, missed Game 1 with an undisclosed issue. It was the first time he missed a regular season or playoff game in seven years.
Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe didn’t give a definitive update on Nylander’s status Sunday. So, at this time, it’s unknown whether Nylander will play in Game 2.
Will the Leafs consider a goalie change? Samsonov didn’t play great in Game 1, but he wasn’t one of the team’s three-worst players. Joseph Woll is the backup, and he lost all three of his starts (12 goals allowed) against the Bruins in the regular season.
The bottom line is the Leafs will need Samsonov to steal at least one game if they’re going to win this series. If he plays in Game 2, he’ll be under tremendous pressure to give a great performance and help the Leafs avoid a 0-2 hole.
Here are the projected lines and pairings for Game 2. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET at TD Garden. This article will be updated closer to puck drop when the Bruins’ starting goalie is revealed and there’s an update on Nylander.
Boston Bruins (1-0)
Forwards
Danton Heinen–Pavel Zacha–David Pastrnak
Brad Marchand–Charlie McAvoy–Jake DeBrusk
Jakub Lauko–Morgan Geekie–Trent Frederic
John Beecher–Jesper Boqvist–Pat Maroon
Defensemen
Hampus Lindholm–Charlie McAvoy
Matt Grzelcyk–Brandon Carlo
Kevin Shattenkirk–Andrew Peeke
Goalies
Jeremy Swayman/Linus Ullmark (TBD)
Toronto Maple Leafs (0-1)
Forwards
Tyler Bertuzzi–Auston Matthews–Max Domi
Matthew Knies–John Tavares–Mitch Marner
Nick Robertson–Pontus Holmberg–Calle Jarnkrok
Connor Dewar–David Kampf–Ryan Reaves
Defensemen
Morgan Rielly-Ilya Lyubushkin
Simon Benoit–Jake McCabe
Joel Edmundson–Timothy Liljegren
Goalies
Ilya Samsonov
Joseph Woll
