Bruins
“Well, you know, we always said that we had a plan in place, and that continues for this series,” coach Jim Montgomery said ahead of Monday’s Game 1 vs. the Panthers.
SUNRISE, Fla. — The Boston Bruins arrived in South Florida hoping to carry over the momentum from their latest thrilling Game 7 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs two nights ago. But a quick turnover awaits with a two-day layover into Round 2 against the Panthers.
The tight scheduling isn’t the only turnaround the Bruins will face entering Monday’s series opener.
Indeed, Monday’s skate featured a handful of developments involving potential lineup changes and a member of the Bruins adding another member to his family. Let’s dive into the top items of discussion following Boston’s pre-series training session at Amerant Bank Arena.
Bruins ‘hopeful’ Brandon Carlo arrives following new addition to his ‘Crew’
Brandon Carlo stayed in Boston just hours after Game 7 with a newborn on the way. By early Monday morning, Carlo and his wife, Mayson, welcomed a baby boy into the world.
“First off here,” head coach Jim Montgomery said, “I want to congratulate Brandon and Mayson on the new addition to their family, Crew.”
With Carlo at home attending to the newest member of his family, the Bruins altered their second and third defensive duos during morning line rushes.
Parker Wotherspoon moved up to the second pair next to Hampus Lindholm. The latter came off one of his best 200-foot performances of the season in Game 7, highlighted by his tying marker in the third and his crafty assist on David Pastrnak’s overtime winner.
Derek Forbort took Wotherspoon’s spot on Boston’s third pair next to Kevin Shattenkirk. Forbort was recently cleared for full contact by the Bruins training staff after a surprisingly quick recovery from his surgery to heal multiple nagging injuries.
Andrew Peeke continues to make progress after sustaining a lower-body injury in Game 2 against the Leafs, but the Floridian blueliner isn’t an option for Monday.
Matt Grzelcyk, who last skated in Game 5, joins Forbort as potential replacements for Carlo. Montgomery didn’t have any definitive update on Carlo’s status for Game 1 against Florida but remains “hopeful” that he’ll rejoin his fellow Boston crew members ahead of the scheduled 8 p.m. puck drop.
Patrick Brown goes from Game 7 spectator to potential fourth-line contributor.
Like the rest of the hub, Brown remained on the edge of his seat, riding the emotions of Boston’s Game 7 win.
The very next day, Brown received a phone call from Don Sweeney confirming his promotion from Providence on an emergency basis.
“That was an awesome game,” Brown said. “I was watching. I was getting goosebumps watching all that time ago. So I think you know it’s an awesome motivator, and we’re playing for each other and saw that in the wins and losses this year.”
Brown should also feel motivated about his recent outings in Providence.
The veteran forward tallied points in his last seven games, including three in the first two Calder Cup playoff tilts of the Baby B’s Atlantic Division semifinals series against Hartford.
Brown replaced Jesper Boqvist as the centerman on Boston’s fourth line alongside Johnny Beecher, who saw some time together on a line in Providence…
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