Bruins vs. Leafs Game 3 lineup: Projected lines, pairings, goalies originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
The Bruins allowed the Maple Leafs to take home ice advantage in their first-round Stanley Cup Playoff series with a 3-2 loss at TD Garden in Monday night’s Game 2.
The series is now even at one win apiece heading to Toronto for Game 3 on Wednesday night.
The Bruins have been in this situation before.
Twice in the last three years they have split the first two games of a playoff series at home and then won Game 3 on the road. Last season, they beat the Panthers in Game 1 of the first round before losing in Game 2. They traveled down to Florida and won Game 3 by two goals. Back in 2021, they beat the Islanders in Game 1 and then lost in overtime in Game 2. Boston responded with a Game 3 overtime victory in New York. The B’s eventually lost those series to the Panthers and Islanders, though.
The Bruins also have won their last four Game 3s overall. Can they make it five in a row against the Leafs?
It will be a tough challenge, for sure. It’s possible that the Leafs could get William Nylander back in the lineup. The superstar forward played in all 82 regular season games but hasn’t played in this series due to an undisclosed injury. However, he did take line rushes during Monday’s morning skate.
Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe gave an update on Nylander’s status after the skate.
Sheldon Keefe says “there’s a chance” William Nylander plays tonight. Will depend on how he responds to extra work this morning.
Auston Matthews is good to go tonight, per Keefe.
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) April 24, 2024
Nylander scored 40 goals with 58 assists in the regular season. He also led the Leafs with 35 power-play points. Toronto’s power play has scored just once in six tries through two games. Nylander returning would be a massive boost to the Leafs’ scoring depth.
The Bruins are expected to make a few changes to their blue line, including the third pairing. Andrew Peeke is week to week with an undisclosed injury suffered in Game 2. Parker Wotherspoon is the most logical choice to replace Peeke. Wotherspoon likely would play on the left side of the pairing, with Kevin Shattenkirk moving back to his normal right side.
One notable change at morning skate was rookie Mason Lohrei skating alongside Charlie McAvoy on the top pairing. Lohrei was recalled from Providence on Tuesday and last played for the Bruins on April 2. Matt Grzelcyk was not in the top three pairings at the morning skate, suggesting he could maybe be a healthy scratch in Game 3.
AM pairs:
Lohrei-McAvoy
Lindholm-Carlo
Wotherspoon-Shattenkirk
Forbort-Grzelcyk— Fluto Shinzawa (@FlutoShinzawa) April 24, 2024
Swapping Lohrei in for Grzelcyk would be a somewhat bold move considering Lohrei’s lack of postseason experience. But Grzelcyk hasn’t played great in this series. Lohrei is a very good skater and would bring some valuable offensive skill to the blue line. He also confirmed to reporters that he will play in Game 3.
Mason Lohrei confirms he’ll be in the lineup tonight for the Boston Bruins.
23-year-old defenseman told me he was emotional before his first call-up this season.
“Maybe even more butterflies now. I mean, it’s the playoffs. This is what I’ve dreamed about since I was a kid.”
— Emily Kaplan (@emilymkaplan) April 24, 2024
James van Riemsdyk, who was a healthy scratch in the first two games of the series, was getting power-play time on the first unit during the morning skate. Could he make his series debut in Game 3?
Looks like James van Riemsdyk, Mason Lohrei, and Parker Wotherspoon are in. Jakub Lauko and Matt Grzelcyk are out. Andrew Peeke is unavailable.
— Fluto Shinzawa (@FlutoShinzawa) April 24, 2024
The Bruins also haven’t announced which goalie will start. They have alternated goalies every game since Feb. 21, so based on that rotation, Jeremy Swayman could be the starter in Game 3. Swayman played brilliantly in Game 1 and made 35 saves on 36 shots. He’s 4-0-0 against the Leafs this season.
Here are the projected lineups for Game 3. We will update this article when the Bruins’ starting goalie is known and when there is a definitive update on Nylander.
Boston Bruins (1-1)
Forwards
Danton Heinen–Pavel Zacha–David Pastrnak
Brad Marchand–Charlie McAvoy–Jake DeBrusk
James van Riemsdyk–Morgan Geekie–Trent Frederic
John Beecher–Jesper Boqvist–Pat Maroon
Defensemen
Mason Lohrei–Charlie McAvoy
Hampus Lindholm–Brandon Carlo
Parker Wotherspoon–Kevin Shattenkirk
Goalie
Jeremy Swayman or Linus Ullmark
Toronto Maple Leafs (1-1)
Forwards
Tyler Bertuzzi–Auston Matthews–Max Domi
Matthew Knies–John Tavares–Mitch Marner
Nick Robertson–Pontus Holmberg–Calle Jarnkrok (maybe William Nylander)
Connor Dewar–David Kampf–Ryan Reaves
Defensemen
Morgan Rielly-Ilya Lyubushkin
Simon Benoit–Jake McCabe
Joel Edmundson–Timothy Liljegren
Goalie
Ilya Samsonov
