UPDATE (7:45 p.m. ET): Marcus Johansson is not on the ice for warmups, so it looks like he’s out.
Here are the Bruins’ lines as a result.
Marchand–Bergeron–Pastrnak
DeBrusk–Krejci–Kuhlman
Heinen–Coyle–Backes
Nordstrom–Acciari–Wagner
ORIGINAL STORY: BOSTON — So here’s what we know: David Backes is in.
Who’s out as a result, at present, remains a mystery.
Boston Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy is going to shake things up at least a little bit Saturday night at TD Garden in Game 2 of the B’s Stanley Cup Playoffs first-round matchup with the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Leafs took a 1-0 series lead with a 4-1 victory in Boston on Thursday.
After Saturday’s optional morning skate, Cassidy was mum about lineup changes other than Backes being entered into the fold. He did indicate that the specific lines would be determined closer to game time once he assesses everyone’s health.
Cassidy seemed to think Jake DeBrusk would be able to go, so if that is indeed true, Karson Kuhlman and Danton Heinen seem like the two most logical candidates to be scratched. Kuhlman has been lauded for the way he hunts pucks, but Cassidy on Saturday didn’t sound particularly fixated on keeping the rookie in the lineup.
“I thought Kuhlman was fine (Thursday),” Cassidy said, via a team-provided transcript. “Good energy, took the puck to the net a couple of times, didn’t hurt us. Certainly didn’t dominate by any means either, but he was fine.”
Heinen, meanwhile, is a pretty good defensive forward, but has struggled to provide any sort of offensive spark when not on the top line. Cassidy hasn’t been afraid to scratch Heinen before when he disappears for prolonged periods, and Backes pretty easily could take over Heinen’s spot on the third line.
It’s also worth mentioning that since Backes isn’t used on the penalty kill, scratching the likes of Joakim Nordstrom or Noel Acciari (even Chris Wagner) seems unlikely.
The Bruins will use the same defensemen as Game 1, meaning Connor Clifton is in over Steven Kampfer. The Maple Leafs likely won’t make any changes to their lineup.
Tuukka Rask will start in net for Boston and will be opposed by Frederik Andersen.
Here are the projected Game 2 lineups for both teams.
BOSTON BRUINS (0-1)
Brad Marchand — Patrice Bergeron — David Pastrnak
Jake DeBrusk — David Krejci — Karson Kuhlman
Danton Heinen — Charlie Coyle — David Backes
Joakim Nordstrom — Noel Acciari — Chris Wagner
Zdeno Chara — Charlie McAvoy
Torey Krug — Brandon Carlo
Matt Grzelcyk — Connor Clifton
Tuukka Rask
TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS (1-0)
Zach Hyman — John Tavares — Mitch Marner
Andreas Johnsson — Auston Matthews — Kasperi Kapanen
Patrick Marleau — Nazem Kadri — William Nylander
Trevor Moore — Frederik Gauthier — Connor Brown
Morgan Rielly — Ron Hainsey
Jake Muzzin — Nikita Zaitsev
Jake Gardiner — Travis Dermott
Frederik Andersen
