The Bruins will start their series against the Lightning with a little bit of a different lineup than the one with which they finished their first-round series against the Hurricanes.
Coach Bruce Cassidy confirmed during his pregame press conference that Nick Ritchie and Anders Bjork will both draw back into the lineup for Sunday night's Game 1 (8 p.m., NBC).
The 6-foot-2, 230-pound Ritchie played the first two games against Carolina, but was then a healthy scratch for the final three as Cassidy opted for quicker, more skilled forwards against a fast Hurricanes team with mobile defensemen.
Cassidy has made it clear he thinks Ritchie's size and physicality could be better suited for this series, though, as the Lightning are a more physical team with some big defensemen, which Ritchie's muscle may be better equipped to combat than a smaller player like Jack Studnicka or Karson Kuhlman.
Whether that actually proves to be the case or if this proves to be a bit of overthinking remains to be seen, as Studnicka has generally looked better and more dangerous than Ritchie since the restart, regardless of matchup. Studnicka's 54.2% Corsi to Ritchie's 48.3% and team-high 13.45 shots per 60 minutes to Ritchie's team-low 1.2 would back that up.
Bjork, meanwhile, played the first four games against Carolina but was a healthy scratch for the clinching Game 5. He struggled while playing on the top line in David Pastrnak's absence, but has looked more comfortable in a third-line role, which is where he'll be Sunday night. Cassidy said Ritchie and Bjork will flank center Charlie Coyle on the third line, with Studnicka expected to be a healthy scratch.
"They’ll play as a line tonight and see how they do," Cassidy said. "Ritchie, we expect to be a little better on the walls. He’s obviously, with active D for Tampa, as much in the O-zone as anywhere, he has to be aware in his coverage in D-zone. Getting inside, Charlie is a good puck protection guy, can separate. Hopefully, Nick can learn to find those soft spots in the O-zone, preferably around the net. Sometimes you can’t always just park yourself in the crease if plays die, then you’re the last guy out of the zone. But slot, net front.
"And with Anders, it’s capitalizing on some opportunities. Obviously he’s had a few. Just a consistent game. Hound pucks. Be a good complementary player for those guys off the rush. He can certainly get inside ice on his off wing. And obviously defensively, like everyone on our team, be accountable and block a shot when it’s your turn to block a shot. Get the clear when it’s your turn to get the clear. Skate it out when the opportunity is there. We’ll see how they do."
That means Sean Kuraly moves back to his usual fourth-line center role after playing some third-line wing in recent games, with Par Lindholm also being a healthy scratch. Kuraly and linemates Joakim Nordstrom and Chris Wagner -- with Lindholm sometimes part of that equation as well -- have seen a lot of Tampa's top line of Ondrej Palat, Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov in recent matchups, and have fared pretty well.
In the last three games between these two (one round-robin game and two games late in the regular season), Kuraly and Point have spent 15:19 against each other at 5-on-5, and the Bruins have had a 19-12 edge in shot attempts, 10-7 edge in shots on goal, and 2-0 edge in goals. The Bruins' fourth line is sure to see a lot of Tampa's top line once again, and Boston would be thrilled to get anything close to that level of success.
"We’ve built it that way for a number of years now," Cassidy said of using his fourth line against the opponent's top line. "Kind of been ingrained in them, whoever those three, four guys are. Last year it was (Noel) Acciari in the mix and before that (Tim) Schaller. So, we use different players and ask them to be hard to play against and defend well and manage pucks. I think Sean does relish it. I think everyone likes to score, get a little more offensively involved. But at the end of the day, they need to embrace that mentality first that they’re going to make it hard on that trio. Keep them off the scoresheet, pin them in their own end at times and frustrate them. They’re almost setting up our next three lines to go over the boards for success."
Here is the expected Bruins lineup for Game 1:
Brad Marchand - Patrice Bergeron - David PastrnakJake DeBrusk - David Krejci - Ondrej KaseNick Ritchie - Charlie Coyle - Anders BjorkJoakim Nordstrom - Sean Kuraly - Chris Wagner
Zdeno Chara - Charlie McAvoyTorey Krug - Brandon CarloMatt Grzelcyk - Connor Clifton
Jaroslav HalakDan Vladar
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