Bruins Set to Switch Up Defense Pairings for Game 2

RALEIGH, N.C. - Bruce Cassidy is opting for options.
After the Bruins' series-opening loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday night, Boston's bench boss made a tweak to his defensive pairings for Tuesday's practice at PNC Arena, shifting Hampus Lindholm down to skate with Brandon Carlo and bumping Matt Grzelcyk up to reunite with Charlie McAvoy.

The changes, he said, will still allow him the opportunity to pair Lindholm and McAvoy together as he sees fit based on what Game 2 may dictate on Wednesday night.
"I just thought Grizz and Carlo had a bit of a challenging night," said Cassidy. "So, we talked about using Lindholm with Carlo at times as well. It also allows you then to in-game put Lindholm and McAvoy together maybe after they've sat a shift for [Derek] Forbort and [Connor] Clifton going over, so we can still keep them as a pair.
"When they're always together, then they're together and that's it. So, it might up Lindy's minutes a little bit in certain situations. It's that time of year, he looks healthy, so there's a little bit of that involved. And you can still go back to the other. He can play with both."
Cassidy also believes the switch will give both pairings a player that is capable of being a "one-man breakout" as he lauded Lindholm and McAvoy for their ability to skate the puck out of trouble in the Bruins' end of the ice.
"[Lindholm] is excellent on the breakout like Charlie is, so now you've got one in each pair that can be a one-man breakout as opposed to loading them up," said Cassidy. "Loading them up, obviously, frees one of the others up to join the offensive attack, right? You're taking from one to give to another and see how it works out.
"And as I said, in game you could still, coming out of a timeout, maybe use Lindholm and McAvoy if it's an offensive draw or a key defensive draw or you need a breakout or etcetera. So that's the reasoning and it's just a little different look for the matchups as well."
Cassidy's plan was to take a look at Lindholm and Carlo together at various points during the stretch run, but Lindholm's lower-body injury - which cost him seven games in April - squashed that plan and allowed for only brief glimpses of the two as a duo. Carlo, however, is looking forward to playing alongside Lindholm, who he has admired from afar.
"Obviously we haven't had many games or shifts together, necessarily, but from watching him along the bench and just over the past couple years, a guy that I have a lot of respect for in his game," said Carlo. "I feel like I'm pretty familiar with the way that he plays the game from watching him. The biggest thing for us will be communication and using our big bodies and long sticks to keep things to the outside tomorrow and go from there and just continue to build chemistry.
"He's a great player and those kinds of players are also fun to play with. He'll make the game easier in some regards. I hope to do the same for him."

Sticking with It

Cassidy will not be making a change between the pipes, saying following Tuesday afternoon's practice that he will stick with Linus Ullmark as Boston's starting goaltender for Game 2. Ullmark made 20 saves on 24 shots in what was his postseason debut.
"Linus is going back in, he had a great run here coming into the playoffs," said Cassidy. "We're not going to judge him on one game…first playoff game. There's a bunch of different things that go into that. But at the end of the day, he's going back in and hopefully he's a better goaltender. That's how it works this time of year. Right now, that's a big part of the game. And he'll get his chance."

Making Adjustments

One of the biggest areas of improvement for the Bruins, at both ends of the ice, will be the front of the net. Boston did not do nearly enough in Game 1 to capitalize - or generate - on second chances and rebounds in front of Hurricanes goalie Antti Raanta. And in their own end, the Bruins allowed Carolina to score each of their first two goals off of tips and traffic in front of Ullmark.
"We want to respect that area of the ice and play hard and control that area. And they did the same to us, we didn't have a lot from the slot. We don't want to get away from that to take away outside shots," said Cassidy. "What we have got to do better is closing quicker so they don't have as much zone time and that's exactly how we want to play, which takes away some of their strength as well. So again, we've got to get back to our game [on Wednesday]."
Cassidy also said that focusing on playing a full 60 minutes in the fashion in which they opened the first and third periods in Game 1 will be crucial for the Bruins if they hope to bounce back.
"How we started was excellent, good first period, pockets in the third to start the third," said Cassidy. "Taylor Hall rings one off the post on a great reload. If that goes in, you don't know how it's going to turn out. We weren't that far away, yet we recognize that they got to their game and were able to stay there and get the job done.
"We have work to do to get to 60 minutes, but it wasn't like it was a complete non-performance for 60. We had really good sequences of Bruins hockey and we just got to extend those sequences."
"We had really good sequences of Bruins hockey and we just got to extend those sequences you just mentioned."

Flipping the Script

In four games this season, the Bruins have never held the lead against the Hurricanes and have now been outscored, 21-2, but the Black & Gold are not allowing the slanted numbers to affect how they approach Game 2 on Wednesday night.
"We're not too worried about the past right now. It's in the past," said Charlie Coyle. "You can't do anything about it. It's all about [Wednesday]. We just had a good practice. We know what we've got to do. It's up to us to go out and prove it now and play our game as best we can. We feel like we haven't done that for a full 60 minutes.
"You have to do it against a team like this. They're a very, very good team. They play well and they play to their structure, so there's not a lot of room for error there. We want to make sure we play our game and play it right, carry it through and just stick with it."
Coyle added that the Bruins are "excited to go" and embrace the challenge of tying this first-round series at a game apiece.
"That's the thing about playoff hockey, you can't dwell on the past," said Coyle. "It's how quickly can you get your focus back and your mind right for the next game no matter if you win or you lose because it can change in an instant. You can't really ride the waves, you stay levelheaded.
"We're excited to get going again. Whenever you lose, you want to come back and make it right and win. We've kind of had that mindset and we've done that really well this year."
Speaking specifically about how his line can improve in Game 2, Coyle said the trio - which also features Trent Frederic and Craig Smith - must work together more cohesively as a unit.
"I think a little tighter support all over the ice, especially breaking out," said Coyle. "They do a good job of being over and initiating right away. There's not a lot of time and space. We have to support better, just talk and play, hang onto the puck down there.
"I think we need to play with it a little more in their zone and make them work and kind of wear them down that way. That's our game, that's how we get into the game, that's how we start feeling good and playing off the shot and see what happens."

Opposing View

Despite the lopsided final score, the Hurricanes are not looking at their Game 1 victory as a blowout. Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour said on Tuesday that there is plenty for his club to shore up if it wants to continue to have success in this series.
"Oh, there's lots. There's lots of them," Brind'Amour said when asked about areas for improvement. "Obviously, playing a great team. They played a good game and they came out and they were good at the start. Raanta made some big saves early to kind of allow us to get to our game a little bit.
"But there's quite a lot we can get better and we're going to have to…that game [Monday] night was as tight as could be…I never look at the score."

Tuesday's Practice Lineup

FORWARDS
Brad Marchand - Patrice Bergeron - Jake DeBrusk
Taylor Hall - Erik Haula - David Pastrnak
Trent Frederic - Charlie Coyle - Craig Smith
Nick Foligno - Tomas Nosek - Curtis Lazar
Anton Blidh - Chris Wagner
DEFENSEMEN
Matt Grzelcyk - Charlie McAvoy
Hampus Lindholm - Brandon Carlo
Derek Forbort - Connor Clifton
Mike Reilly - Josh Brown
GOALIES
Linus Ullmark
Jeremy Swayman