The Boston Bruins are reverting almost to type in a do-or-die situation against the Carolina Hurricanes.
Head coach Bruce Cassidy will deploy the forward lines Boston used for much of the second half of the season Thursday night at TD Garden, as the Bruins host the Hurricanes in Game 6 of their first-round Stanley Cup playoff series.
Boston trails the series 3-2, and Cassidy is relying on the players to recreate what has brought them success since the start of the calendar year.
Jake DeBrusk returns from third-line left wing to right wing on the top line, David Pastrnak goes back to the second line from the first, and Craig Smith rejoins the third forward unit after one game on the second. DeBrusk’s move creates an opening for Trent Frederic to return to action as third-line left wing. Smith bumps Tomas Nosek back to the center of the fourth line, and Curtis Lazar moves from center to right wing as a result.
Another set of big lineup changes come in the Bruins’ defense, where Hampus Lindholm returns from injury to join Charlie McAvoy on the top pairing. This likely would have made Mike Reilly a healthy scratch, but he drops to the second pairing because Matt Grzelcyk will sit out due to an injury Cassidy declined to disclose Thursday at a press conference following morning skate.
Jeremy Swayman remains the Bruins’ starting goaltender for the fourth consecutive game, with Linus Ullmark serving as his backup.
Bruins-Hurricanes coverage begins at 6 p.m. ET on NESN with “Bruins Face-Off Live: Eastern Conference First Round.” Puck drop from TD Garden is scheduled for 7 p.m. “Bruins Overtime Live: Eastern Conference First Round” immediately will follow the final horn, and Boston-Carolina coverage wraps up with “Bruins Postgame Final: Eastern Conference First Round.”
Remember to follow all the Bruins-Hurricanes coverage using the NESN app or via Watch NESN Live if you’re on the go.
Here are the teams’ projected lines and pairings for Game 6:
BOSTON BRUINS (2-3)
Brad Marchand–Patrice Bergeron–Jake DeBrusk
Taylor Hall–Erik Haula–David Pastrnak
Trent Frederic–Charlie Coyle–Craig Smith
Nick Foligno–Tomas Nosek–Curtis Lazar
Hampus Lindholm–Charlie McAvoy
Mike Reilly–Brandon Carlo
Derek Forbort–Connor Clifton
Jeremy Swayman
CAROLINA HURRICANES (3-2)
Andrei Svechnikov–Sebastian Aho–Seth Jarvis
Max Domi–Vincent Trocheck–Teuvo Teravainen
Nino Niederreiter–Jordan Staal–Jesper Fast
Steven Lorentz–Jesperi Kotkaniemi–Martin Necas
Jaccob Slavin–Tony DeAngelo
Brady Skjei–Brett Pesce
Brendan Smith–Ian Cole
Antti Raanta
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