The Bruins begin their quest for the Stanley Cup on Monday night at TD Garden when they welcome the Florida Panthers to town for a best-of-seven series.
Boston was the NHL’s best team with 65 wins, 135 points and clinched the Atlantic Division in March, long before any other team even sniffed a playoff spot. It was a historic season of sorts for the Bruins, and now they set their sights on the NHL’s biggest prize.
But no team is perfect, and the Bruins do have some questions ahead of them before the puck drops on Game 1.
Who sits?
The Bruins have incredible depth on both the forward lines and the defense. Ever since the NHL trade deadline when they brought in Dmitry Orlov, Garnet Hathaway and Tyler Bertuzzi, Boston has had to make some difficult decisions about who to sit for each game. The Bruins have a good problem, but it will leave good players in suits rather than suiting up.
Nick Foligno and Derek Forbort both had great seasons before getting injured. It’s unclear what their status will be for Game 1, but Foligno said he was shooting to be ready for the first-round series, while Forbort began practicing in a regular sweater last week. Inserting both of them would boost the lineup, but it would mean one forward and one D-man who helped the B’s win 15 of their final 16 games would sit. It won’t be an easy decision for head coach Jim Montgomery, but he knows he has plenty of options.
Maybe Montgomery slowly eases Foligno and Forbort back into the lineup, depending on how they feel and where they’re at in terms of their recoveries. You can never have too much depth, and the Bruins have that in bunches.
How healthy are the Bruins?
Aside from Foligno and Forbort, the Bruins have had a few of their veterans banged up. Though minimal, Montgomery did say players like Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, David Krejci and Hampus Lindholm were dealing with nagging injuries that led to some rest toward the end of the regular season. Krejci missed the Bruins’ final five games with a lower-body injury, but assured Montgomery he’s a “playoff-only guy” and will be ready for Game 1. Bergeron was removed prematurely from Boston’s 5-4 win against the Montreal Canadiens in the regular-season finale, but that was for precautionary measures. Montgomery told reporters afterward that Bergeron wanted to go back in, so that’s reassuring.
Linus Ullmark also left the Bruins’ final home game of the regular season after going into the post a bit awkwardly. Much like Bergeron, it was precautionary. Ullmark didn’t travel to Montreal but any added rest he can get will be beneficial for both the goalie and the Bruins.
Taylor Hall also missed significant time with a lower-body injury. He returned late in the regular season and didn’t look hindered by his ailment. Montgomery didn’t play the forward on back-to-back nights so give him some extra rest between games.
After the grind of an 82-game regular season, it’s likely some are dealing with some fatigue but again, the Bruins have a lot of depth at every position, there’s no doubt anyone will be ready to step up if needed.
Will Panthers goalie steal a game?
Or, perhaps, even the series? We’ve seen in the past how a goalie can be the X-factor in a playoff series, picking up their team when they’re not playing their best. Could this happen with Florida? Alex Lyon, a 30-year-old who’s never played in the playoffs, could be the Game 1 starter after starting the final eight games for the Panthers and catching fire. Then there’s Sergei Bobrovsky, a seasoned vet with 51 games of Stanley Cup playoffs experience under his belt. Both goalies played one game each against the Bruins this year with Lyon getting the win and Bobrovsky getting the loss.
Our NESN experts believe the Bruins are too deep for the Panthers to come away victorious in the best-of-seven series, but it’s possible one of the goalies could keep the Panthers in it.
