The Boston Bruins plan to stick with what got them to this point against the Washington Capitals.
Bruce Cassidy all but confirmed the four lines the Bruins will use Saturday in Game 1 of their first-round Stanley Cup playoffs series against the Washington Capitals will be the ones on which he relied during the stretch run of the regular season.
That means Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak will comprise the top, or “perfection,” line, while Taylor Hall, David Krejci and Craig Smith will make up the second line. After 10 days on the sidelines, Charlie Coyle will return from injury to his spot on the right wing of the third line, opposite Nick Ritchie with Sean Kuraly centering them. Jake DeBrusk, Curtis Lazar and Chris Wagner man the fourth line.
Matt Grzelcyk and Charlie McAvoy are the first defensive pairing. Mike Reilly and Brandon Carlo are the second, while Jeremy Lauzon and Kevan Miller are the third.
These lines and pairings mark a return to normalcy after a host of Bruins sat out Tuesday’s regular-season finale against the Capitals, which the Bruins won on a last-second game-winner.
Having also watched the most recent game on the bench, Tuukka Rask will start in goal for the Bruins.
Meanwhile, Capitals coach Peter Laviolette was tight-lipped regarding just about everything with his lineup. He did not indicate who would start in net, and he said T.J. Oshie was a game-time decision.
Puck drop for Game 1 is scheduled for 7:15 p.m. ET at Capital One Arena. NESN will air an hour of pregame coverage, and NBC will air the game itself. Be sure to return to NESN after the final horn for an hour of full postgame coverage.
Here are the projected lineups for Saturday’s Bruins-Capitals game:
BOSTON BRUINS (0-0)
Brad Marchand–Patrice Bergeron–David Pastrnak
Taylor Hall–David Krejci–Craig Smith
Nick Ritchie–Sean Kuraly–Charlie Coyle
Jake DeBrusk–Curtis Lazar–Chris Wagner
Matt Grzelcyk–Charlie McAvoy
Mike Reilly–Brandon Carlo
Jeremy Lauzon–Kevan Miller
Tuukka Rask
WASHINGTON CAPITALS (0-0)
Alex Ovechkin–Nicklas Backstrom–Anthony Mantha
Conor Sheary–Lars Eller–Tom Wilson
Daniel Sprong–Michael Raffl–Daniel Carr
Carl Hagelin–Nic Dowd–Garnet Hathaway
Brenden Dillon–John Carlson
Dmitri Orlov–Justin Schulz
Zdeno Chara–Nick Jensen
Vitek Vanecek
