Boston Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery hasn’t been hesitant at all during the Stanley Cup playoffs of switching up his his team’s lines.
Montgomery really shuffled them around to start Game 5 on Wednesday night, having Brad Marchand skating alongside Charlie Coyle and Nick Foligno on the second line and having Patrice Bergeron centering Tyler Bertuzzi and David Pastrnak on the top line.
There’s a possibility that altering the lines has impacted Pastrnak as he is going through some offensive struggles playing with unfamiliar linemates. But the Bruins star pushed back on that notion.
“I have no problem moving around,” Pastrnak told reporters Thursday, per team-provided video. “I’m fine with adjusting to different linemen. At the same time, we had players in and out of the lineup all year long. It’s nothing new. Obviously, we had a lot of injuries during the year. So, we’ve pretty much played with everybody up to this point.”
Experimenting with his lines is something Montgomery did throughout the season, but it still seems like he has taken it up to another level during the first-round series against the Panthers.
It will be interesting to see what lines Montgomery goes with in Game 6 with the Bruins trying to close out the series. If he is looking to get Pastrnak going and maybe give the winger some confidence, too, Montgomery may decide to reunite the “perfection line” for the pivotal contest.
Regardless, Pastrnak needs to find a way to unlock his offensive game no matter who he is on the ice with.
The Bruins will take on the Panthers in Game 6 on Friday night from FLA Live Arena. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET, and you can watch the game, plus an hour of pregame coverage, on NESN.
