What Panthers’ Two Lineup Changes Mean For Game 6 With Bruins

The Panthers are increasing their snarl for Game 6 against the Bruins.

Paul Maurice is making a pair of lineup changes ahead of Florida’s second attempt to close out Boston in its second-round Stanley Cup playoffs series. Maurice told reporters at Friday’s morning skate that forwards Nick Cousins and Ryan Lomberg will draw into the lineup to replace Kyle Okposo and Steven Lorentz.

The fourth-line shakeup is a relatively minor move, and Lomberg in particular is returning after an injury. Maurice, though, believes the duo could give his team a boost in more ways than one against a suddenly resurgent Bruins team.

“I’m looking at the two guys sitting out thinking they could really bring some legs tonight,” Maurice told reporters in his Friday morning media session. ” … They’re energy-bringers from the start, and that goes into the locker room, into the morning skate, into all the little superstition routines the players have, both of those guys are connected to everybody.”

Coincidence or not, they also bring a little bit of nastiness. Cousins’ scouting report from The Pro Hockey Group lauds him as “tenacious,” adding he’s “a player who can get under the skin of opponents.” Lomberg, meanwhile, is credited as someone who “never goes away,” and also “gets under the skin of opponents.”

There was no shortage of hate in the first half of this series, but as the battle nears its end, the focus for each team has largely been on cleaning up their respective games. Cousins and Lomberg aren’t necessarily returning to create chaos, but their ability to play the role of pests could tip the scales if the Bruins aren’t disciplined.

The Bruins might be making a roster move of their own, a slightly more important one at that. B’s captain Brad Marchand could be returning after missing Games 4 and 5 with an upper-body injury. He could also increase the pesty-ness of Game 6, too.