2 Boston Bruins who should be in the Game 6 lineup against the Maple Leafs, 2 who shouldn't
What the Bruins lineup will look like in Game 6 remains to be seen, but here are two players who should be in the lineup and two who shouldn't.
You can hear Boston Bruins fans everywhere saying "here we go again.''Just one year after watching them blow a 3-1 first-round series lead to the Florida Panthers in 2023, Boston jumped out to the same lead over the Toronto Maple Leafs in this year's first-round series. Like last season, the Bruins dropped Game 5 at home in overtime and now must go back to Toronto for a Game 6.
Florida completed the stunning comeback last spring by winning Game 6 at home and then Game 7 in Boston in overtime. The Bruins have lost four straight close-out games under second-year head coach Jim Montgomery and until they prove otherwise, what is going to make anyone think it will change?
Toronto seemed all but down and out and they were missing star forward Auston Matthews and his 69 regular season goals in Game 5, yet the Bruins still were not able to close out the series. Instead, they let the Maple Leafs win 2-1 in overtime and now they have life, which could be dangerous for Boston heading back to Canada.
Nothing comes easy for the Bruins and neither will come the fourth win in the series to send them to the second round against Florida. Montgomery decided to make some head scratching lineup changes ahead of Game 5 and it's safe to say that they backfired. As the series shifts back to Toronto for Game 6 Thursy night, here are two players that should be in the lineup for Boston and two who shouldn't.
Two Bruins' who should be in the Game 6 lineup
John Beecher
This one goes without saying. No one outside of the decision-makers for the Bruins will ever understand why John Beecher came out of the lineup. His absence was felt in the first period when Boston was losing faceoff after faceoff and the Maple Leafs capitalized on one of them when Jake McCabe scored off an offensive zone win by Toronto.
Bruins outshot 12-2 by the Leafs in the opening 20 minutes. They also lost 16 of 20 total faceoffs, including 10 of 14 in the defensive zone. But the game is tied 1-1.
— Ty Anderson (@_TyAnderson) April 30, 2024
Everyone struggled at the faceoff dot for the Bruins and despite some struggles that Beecher has had in the series, you can't convince me that he could not have made a difference on faceoffs in the game. He should not be out of the lineup for the rest of the postseason, no matter how games they have left.
Mason Lohrei
There is no reason why Mason Lohrei should come out of the lineup either. He more than held his own in Games 3 and 4 in Toronto and he did the same in Game 5. The case could be made that he played better at times than Charlie McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm.
Montgomery had him on the second power-play unit in place of Kevin Shattenkirk and if Boston's coach feels the need to take a left-shot defenseman out of the lineup, under no circumstances should it be Lohrei. The kid has proved he's ready for the playoff stage.
Two Bruins' who shouldn't be in the Game 6 lineup
Matt Grzelcyk
So Matt Grzelcyk was scratched in Games 3 and 4, two Boston wins, and he's inserted into the lineup for Game 5 and they lose. I'm not saying that it was all Grzelcyk's fault, however, he looked rusty, he was on the ice for Matthew Knies' game-winner and had trouble a couple of times completing tape-to-tape passes.
MATTHEW KNIES KEEPS THE LEAFS ALIVE ‼️
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 1, 2024
Knies buries the @SUBWAYCanada OT winner to force a Game 6. pic.twitter.com/WaQiHjnZeV
Last season against Florida, Montgomery did the same thing in making him a scratch and Boston had success. If he wasn't good enough to play last year, he might not be good enough to play this year. His size makes him prone to struggle with the physical play of the playoffs, but again, if it's not broke, don't fix it.
Derek Forbort
This is another one that goes without saying, but after Game 5, who knows what Montgomery is thinking? Derek Forbort has been out since March when he underwent surgery, which prompted the trade deadline acquisition of Andrew Peeke from the Columbus Blue Jackets. He has started skating and practicing and Montgomery keeps saying he's getting closer, but now is not the time.
A defensive lineup of McAvoy, Lindholm, Lohrei, Shattenkirk, Brandon Carlo and Parker Wortherspoon is the lineup to run with for Game 6 and Montgomery should not over think it. Putting Forbort out there for the first time in months would be another mistake.
We will find out what this Bruins team is made of going to Toronto looking to end the series for a second time. If they don't, things get real dicey Saturday night at the TD Garden in Game 7.
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