Sunday afternoon, less than 24 hours after the Boston Bruins eliminated Toronto in Game 7 of their first-round 2024 Playoff series against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Bruins' GM Don Sweeney met with the media before his team charted off to Florida to kick off the second round against the Panthers Monday night.
The veteran GM said that he expects to have all of his injured skaters to be available at some point in the series. That is certainly good news for second-year coach Jim Montgomery as his team will be playing a very physical Panthers team. Of course, all games in the postseason are very physical, but this Florida team hits whatever moves whenever they can.
Sweeney expects all of Boston’s injured skaters (Peeke, Heinen)to all be available at some point in this second round.
— Conor Ryan (@ConorRyan_93) May 5, 2024
Still assessing when they’ll be cleared. Should have a better idea tomorrow.
Montgomery had some questionable lineups at times against the Maple Leafs and it's likely he will in this series against Florida, but there are a couple of players that should not play much, if at all, in the series and past history says it just could happen.
Matt Grzelcyk
Last spring, Matt Grzelcyk found himself as a healthy scratch against the Panthers. In the first round against Toronto, he again found himself on the ninth floor watching the game. Nothing against the former Boston University defenseman, but playoff hockey is not something that he thrives in.
Last season against the Panthers, he was scratched multiple times and he should be again this series. Mason Lohrei played very well in Games 6 and 7 against the Maple Leafs and in each game, he showed more and more confidence in all phases of his game. Even Montgomery noticed following Game 7. Lohrei, Hampus Lindholm, and Parker Wortherspoon is the left side to roll with against the Panthers. If Grzelcyk was good enough last season, he's not good enough this year.
Derek Forbort
When the Bruins announced that Derek Forbort was going to be placed on LTIR, it was thought that his time wearing the Spoked-B was likely over with him becoming a free agent this summer. Not so fast. He recently started skating and practicing and Montgomery said that he is inching toward a return.
Great, but now is not the time to work him into the lineup. Why? See above with Lohrei. The kid is proving with each game that he belongs with the playoff pressure and he is thriving on it. It's not easy working your way back into game shape following and injury and surgery to return to the lineup, but to do it in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs is a lot to ask. Again, if it's not broke, don't get cute fixing it.
Game 5 against the Maple Leafs will not be the last time this postseason where a Montgomery lineup will be questioned. Unless an injury occurs, the Bruins bench boss needs to run with what has gotten him to South Florida and not overthink things.