Need to Know: Bruins at Capitals | Game 5

WASHINGTON - The Bruins have a chance to close out their first-round matchup against the Washington Capitals on Sunday night as they carry a 3-1 series lead into Game 5 at Capital One Arena. A victory and Boston will move on to Round 2 for the fourth straight year, but Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy is not expecting the Black & Gold to adopt a different mindset despite what's at stake.
"We expect them to be better, but we can only control how we play," Cassidy said following Sunday's pregame skate. "The message is more, 'Hey, stay in the moment, keep building your game, keep getting better every night and you've got to believe that'll be good enough to win.
"That's got to be the mindset, right? Some nights it happens, some nights it doesn't, but recently it has. I think we've gotten better every night, and tonight should be no different in our approach."
Here's everything else you need to know ahead of the 7:00 p.m. ET puck drop on NESN, USA Network, and 98.5 The Sports Hub:

Tinner Time

Jarred Tinordi will make his Bruins' postseason debut in Game 5 as he subs in for the injured Kevan Miller, who was sidelined by a high hit from the Caps' Dmitry Orlov on Friday night. The veteran blue liner, claimed off of waivers from Nashville in February, will play the left on Boston's third pairing next to Connor Clifton, who will move to his natural right side.
"I'm excited," said Tinordi, whose father, Mark, played for Washington from 1994-99. "It's tough to see players go down on the ice. You never want to get in under those circumstances. But we're here now. We have a big game tonight and I'm ready to go."
Tinordi is no stranger to the Capitals, having played five of his 14 games with the Bruins against the division rival. The 29-year-old's shining moment in the Spoked-B came in his first game with the club on March 3 when he dropped the gloves with the Caps' Tom Wilson, who had delivered a high and dirty check on Brandon Carlo earlier in the contest, a hit that resulted in a seven-game suspension for Wilson.
"It's been a physical series, they're a physical team," said Tinordi, who will ditch the face shield that he has been donning since suffering a broken nose on a dangerous hit from behind by Washington's Garnet Hathaway on April 18 at TD Garden.
"For me personally, nothing really changes to my game. I've tried to be physical since I've gotten here, tried to be that presence and be physical. I just want to carry that over from the regular season into the playoffs.
"That's one element that I can help this team in. I'm gonna go out and try to do that, not running around too much. I don't want to put our team in a bad spot, just do my job and be smart about it."

The 6-foot-6, 205-pound blue liner, who has played in nine career playoff games between Montreal and Nashville, last suited up on April 18, the B's season finale in Washington.
"The last game he played in he played well, was in this building," said Cassidy. "For him, it hasn't changed - help us win. How do you do that? Be clean with the puck, good first pass. Play solid 1-on-1 defense, he's going to be part of the penalty kill. He was good at that when he was here. Be physical when the situation dictates.
"He's a big guy. They know when he's on the ice. I'm sure they'll have their scouting report on him, where they can break him down and where his strengths are. That's fairly typical this time of year. It is a good matchup for him with some big wingers. He's mobile and can get in people's way and he's not afraid to assert himself. For big guys coming down the right side, whether it's [Anthony] Mantha, [Alex] Ovechkin or [Tom] Wilson, that can be an advantage for him.
"We talked about that, playing to your strength. Stay within yourself. It's a faster pace, playoffs, so he's going to have to get back on pucks and make quicker decisions, probably than the regular season. Not probably, he's going to have to. That'll be an adjustment for him because he hasn't been in yet."
Ultimately, however, with Jeremy Lauzon and Jakub Zboril still unavailable due to injury, Cassidy opted for Tinordi over Urho Vaakanainen given his experience.
"He's played more for us this year than Vaak," Cassidy explained. "To me, he should be more playoff ready. Until you get a guy in there, you never know how they're going to respond. We're well down the food chain now with our D, as in years past. Play to your strength, help us win - that's the ask of him and we'll go forward.
"If the next guy in is Vaak, then we'll talk about him. But right now, Tinordi is getting the call and he's worked hard. He's a hard worker, he's a good pro. That part of it, the conditioning and all that. It should be there. It's just a matter of getting your feet under you quickly here."

Kampfer Unavailable

Defenseman Steven Kampfer will not be available moving forward due to an arm injury "that required attention," according to Cassidy. The veteran blue liner provided valuable depth and dependability for the Bruins throughout the season, registering five points (two goals, three assists) in 20 games.

Opposing View

Per the Washington Post, the Capitals could have a lineup change up front with Daniel Sprong subbing in for Michael Raffl and playing second-line left wing alongside Evgeny Kuznetsov and Tom Wilson during the morning skate. Ilya Samsonov is expected to make his third straight start in goal.
"It doesn't do any good to look in the rearview mirror," said Caps coach Peter Laviolette on Washington's approach for a do-or-die Game 5. "It doesn't do any good in the playoffs to look down the road. You really got to focus on the day. We're playing a good opponent. Our focus needs to be on the day, it needs to be on what we do today, how we play, execution.
"You're always best when you can keep it real simple and just look at what's in front of you…I think the guys understand that and I don't think anybody is caught in a couple days ago and I don't think they're looking four days down the line, either."

By the Numbers

• The Bruins have a 20-2 record in best-of-seven series in which they have led 3-1. They are 12-10 in Game 5s of best-of-seven series in which they have led 3-1.
• The B's three-goal decision in Game 4 snapped an NHL record of 12 straight one-goal playoff games between these teams.
• Brad Marchand is two points shy of his 100th NHL playoff point. He is also one goal shy of moving into sole possession of fifth place on the Bruins' all-time list.

Sunday's Projected Lineup

FORWARDS
Brad Marchand - Patrice Bergeron - David Pastrnak
Taylor Hall - David Krejci - Craig Smith
Nick Ritchie - Charlie Coyle - Jake DeBrusk
Sean Kuraly - Curtis Lazar - Chris Wagner
DEFENSEMEN
Matt Grzelcyk - Charlie McAvoy
Mike Reilly - Brandon Carlo
Jarred Tinordi - Connor Clifton
GOALIES
Tuukka Rask
Jeremy Swayman