Brazeau, Forbort “Options” to Return for Game 5

BOSTON – The Bruins will have a chance to advance to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs on Tuesday night and they may have a pair of players returning from injury when they take the ice for Game 5 against the Maple Leafs at TD Garden.

Coach Jim Montgomery said that both winger Justin Brazeau and defenseman Derek Forbort are “options” to suit up as Boston aims to close out their longtime rivals.

“Forbort and Brazeau are options. We'll see [Tuesday] night if they're in the lineup or not. There are steps left to be made, but they're close,” Montgomery said following Monday’s practice at Warrior Ice Arena.

Montgomery acknowledged that there is a level of “trepidation” in the idea of inserting Forbort into the middle of a postseason series, given the blue liner has missed nearly two months after undergoing multiple surgical procedures in early March.

Brazeau, meanwhile, has only missed roughly four weeks after suffering an upper-body injury on April 2 in Nashville.

“I feel good. It’s been a long couple weeks. I’m just waiting to get back in the lineup,” said Brazeau. “I’m excited…I’ve worked my entire life to get here. I’m excited to get out there and hopefully help out.”

The 26-year-old made his NHL debut in mid-February and burst onto the scene with five goals and seven points across 19 games before taking a heavy open-ice hit against the Predators that sidelined him for the last several weeks.

“The timing wasn’t great,” said Brazeau. “I felt like I was getting more comfortable in the league then something like that happens. It’s part of the game and you’ve just got to move forward with it.”

Brazeau said that he does not have any apprehension about potentially re-entering the lineup amid a playoff series, noting that the plan was always to have him return when he was back to full strength.

“I think that was the whole plan of taking time with it, making sure that I was at a point that when I go on the ice, I have no second thoughts and I can just play. I’m not really thinking about that too much,” he said.

The Ontario native added that “matching the physicality” in the postseason will be the biggest challenge when he does return to game action.

“It’s been a couple weeks and I’ve only played regular-season games,” said Brazeau. “But it’s something I’m excited about, it’s something in my game that I enjoy and getting to the hard areas. I’m excited for that.

“I think it’s something I’ve always done in my game. It’s nothing that I really have to change or anything. It’s just going out there and doing what I do.”

A Chance to Advance

The Bruins have moved on from last season’s playoff disappointment.

But while they may not be directly discussing that they held an identical 3-1 series lead in their opening-round matchup against the Panthers, it is experience to draw upon as they aim to close out the Maple Leafs on home ice.

“We didn't talk about it,” said Montgomery. “We talked about urgency, but about the group this year, about how we need to get better because there's areas of our game that need to continue to get better off if we're hoping to have success in the series.

“That's just the way it is. I think the experience of last year helps us this year but we haven't talked about it.”

Charlie Coyle concurred with his coach, while saying the totality of every player’s postseason experience is something to lean on at critical points of a series.

“You always learn from last year, the year before, the year before. You learn from every playoff run you’ve been on,” said Coyle, who has 110 playoffs games on his resume. “That’s why having veterans on your team, guys that have been around, guys who have won, guys who have lost, it’s great to have those people who have experienced the ups and the downs and how to ride that and learn from it.

“I think smart hockey players usually do learn from the past, whether you win or lose. You always carry that with you, put your best foot forward. I think we know what to do and how we want to play. We just focus on that.”

Coyle added that the Bruins know well the “close-out game is always the toughest.”

“Teams got their back against the wall and they’re gonna give everything they can,” said Coyle. “We’re expecting their best game. That’s something we want to prepare for and be ready for. But right back at it. We want to show them our best. We know we’re capable of playing even better than we have been.

“We can tighten some things up, hone in on our details and our compete, all that good stuff that has brought us success so far. We want to keep on that and keep upping it as well.”

Montgomery channeled former Patriots coach Bill Belichick when he said the Bruins must tune out all distractions as they prepare for Game 5.

“Well, to steal a line from Bill Belichick. The most important thing is we eliminate outside noise and we just focus on Toronto,” said Montgomery. “We focus on what's at hand Tuesday. Staying in the moment, focusing on our process that drives results. That's where our mindset needs to be and hopefully that's part of the experience we've learned from last year.”

Staying Focused

Linus Ullmark said that he is aiming to remain as professional as possible, while staying ready for when and if he may be called upon again between the pipes. After him and Jeremy Swayman split the first two contests of this series, Swayman has gotten the start the last two and put forth strong performances in each of the three games he’s played against the Maple Leafs.

“There's a reason why I'm here today and it's not being a salty cry baby about not playing or anything like that,” said Ullmark. “I try to stay professional, supporting the guys throughout the team here and go out there every practice trying to be better, try push people in a way that I can, obviously, and try to bring that energy and try to do whatever I can when I'm off to the side as much as I do when I'm in the net.

“I can't take it easy.  You never know what happens. I always hope for the best, expect the worst kind of thing. That's the thing...you always have to be vigilant and stay positive throughout the series. And for me, it's just staying in the moment.”

Ullmark said the communication between him, Montgomery, and goalie coach Bob Essensa has “been good” throughout the process.

“Just take it day by day,” said Ullmark. “Sway has been playing tremendously. I have a lot of faith and I feel very happy for him, obviously. And that's what I try to do as well. Stay positive and supportive of him because if I don't support my guy, I'm not supporting the team.

“And if I'm not supporting the team, I'm not supporting him, so it kind of goes hand in hand in that sort of situation.”

Wait, There’s More

• Both Brad Marchand and Danton Heinen sat out Monday’s practice for “maintenance.”
• When the Bruins and Maple Leafs take the ice for Game 5 on Tuesday night, it will be just the teams’ second game in six days after two separate two-day breaks on either side of Game 4. “I can’t wait,” said David Pastrnak. “I hate this, personally, those two days between games because you just want to keep playing, you just want to play. I’m glad we are only one day away and I can’t wait for [Tuesday] already.”