For the first time in his NHL career, Jeremy Swayman will start four straight games. Bruce Cassidy announced on Wednesday that he is sticking with Swayman for Thursday’s Game 6 at TD Garden as the Bruins try to stave off elimination.
Swayman wasn’t at his best in Tuesday’s Game 5 loss in Raleigh, but Cassidy said he doesn’t believe the rookie is wearing down physically or anything. Swayman did play in five straight games in April, coming on in relief of an injured Linus Ullmark in one of them.
“No,” Cassidy said when asked if he sees any signs of fatigue. “I don’t think he looked his best yesterday. What it comes to down to for me is, I’ll go to Game 3, big, big saves early on, on [Tony] DeAngelo and a breakaway on [Jordan] Martinook, gives us a little bit of, ‘Hey, let’s find our game.’ Even though they scored first, those were important, timely saves.
“Last night we didn’t get it. First goal, we’re on them, another good start, we need that save early on. It’s just one you need, keep you in it. Didn’t happen, gives them a little bit of life in their building. … I’m certainly not gonna put it on the goaltender, but those are areas of the game that we got at home and we’re gonna need tomorrow again. You need that timely save early on.”
Those comments sound similar to the ones Cassidy made about Linus Ullmark after Games 1 and 2 -- that Ullmark wasn’t the reason they lost, but that they could’ve used a timely save or two. Cassidy gave Ullmark another chance after Game 1, but then made the move to Swayman after Game 2.
Obviously he and the Bruins will be hoping that Swayman doesn’t have a second straight off night like Ullmark did. Swayman’s performance in Games 3 and 4, when he stopped 49 of the 53 shots he faced in a pair of wins, should give the Bruins a little more confidence since they’ve already seen Swayman give them strong performances in this series.
If all goes well, Cassidy will have to make a change on defense. That’s because Hampus Lindholm “should be good to go” for Game 6, according to Cassidy. Lindholm did not travel with the team for Game 5, but was on the ice at Warrior Ice Arena again on Wednesday, skating with Boston’s healthy scratches and Black Aces (there was no full-team practice Wednesday). Lindholm has been out since suffering an upper-body injury in Game 2.
The decision on which defenseman comes out will likely come down to Matt Grzelcyk vs. Mike Reilly. Cassidy likes the way his third pairing of Derek Forbort and Connor Clifton has been playing and doesn’t seem inclined to split them up. Reilly began the series as the healthy scratch when everyone was healthy, but he has out-performed Grzelcyk since getting into the lineup.
Reilly has been clean with the puck for the most part and has actually stepped up his physicality a bit. He is one of just two Bruins defensemen (along with Clifton) to have a positive goal differential at 5-on-5 in this series. In his 40:34 of 5-on-5 ice time across three games, the Bruins have outscored Carolina 2-1 and have 62.3% of expected goals.
In Grzelcyk’s 71:34 at 5-on-5 across five games, the Bruins have been outscored 6-2. He and Brandon Carlo together have been outscored 4-0. Grzelcyk did not do himself any favors in Game 5, when he committed a turnover leading up to the Hurricanes’ first goal and also took two penalties. At the offensive end of the ice, Reilly has eight shot attempts and four shots on goal, compared to four attempts and two on goal for Grzelcyk.
“Probably,” Cassidy said when asked if it comes down to Reilly vs. Grzelcyk. “Because I think Forbort and Clifton… they looked a little fatigued last night, for whatever reason. They weren’t as clean, but I think they’ve been really good in this series for the most part as a pair that play their 15-16 minutes. … I think Forbort and Clifton, for what they’ve been asked to do, have delivered. They’ve done their part.
“So that’s something we’ll talk about. With Lindholm going in, he adds some elements that Grizz and Reilly bring. That’s where Forbort’s a little unique vs. Reilly and Grzelcyk as far as what he brings, so we want to make sure we have that in our lineup. That’ll be a decision we’re gonna have to make tomorrow.”
Cassidy could also be considering changes up front, although he didn’t tip his hand on Wednesday. The Bruins have gotten just one 5-on-5 goal from a forward not named Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron or David Pastrnak in this series.
While he may not necessarily help in terms of offensive firepower, Trent Frederic could draw back in after being a healthy scratch the last three games. Tomas Nosek, who played a team-low 7:09 on Tuesday, would be a name to watch when it comes to a potential scratch.
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