3 Keys: Bruins at Panthers, Game 6 of Eastern 1st Round

(1A) Boston Bruins at (WC2) Florida Panthers
Eastern Conference First Round, Game 6
Boston leads best-of-7 series, 3-2
7:30 p.m. ET; TNT, CBC, TVAS, SN, BSFL, NESN

SUNRISE, Fla. -- The Boston Bruins have their second chance to eliminate the Florida Panthers when they play Game 6 of the Eastern Conference First Round at FLA Live Arena on Friday.
The Bruins lost 4-3 in overtime in Game 5 at TD Garden on Wednesday in their first chance to reach the second round.
Another trip to Florida wasn't what Boston planned on or wanted.
"That's what we're trying to do, is play like we're the ones down, play like we're the ones that can't afford to lose another game," Bruins forward Taylor Hall said. "We're looking to close this out. This is a huge game for us and we don't want to go back to a Game 7. You know what they say about Game 7s, how anything can happen.
"Our mindset is to do whatever we can physically and mentally to get this done tonight."
RELATED: [Complete Bruins vs. Panthers series coverage]
But the Panthers will have something to say about that. And they're ready.
"When you've been behind the eight ball for so long and you've been trying to battle back and you've been seeing the results over the last couple months, it just adds to that belief, adds to your confidence as a group going forward and makes you more comfortable in these sorts of situations," Florida forward Sam Reinhart said.
Here are 3 keys for Game 6:

1. Production from Pastrnak

David Pastrnak has two goals and no assists in five games in the series.
The Bruins need more from him.
Pastrnak and Boston coach Jim Montgomery each believe more is coming for the forward, who was second in the NHL with 61 goals during the regular season. And Pastrnak vowed to have a "shooting mindset" in Game 6 and beyond.
"I thought he had more opportunities [in Game 5] to do things than in Game 4 in Florida," Montgomery said. "So if he continues along that trend, it's just a matter of time. In the playoffs, everything gets magnified.
"He has two goals in five games. I'm not a great mathematician, but is that a 40-goal pace? So he's a 20-goal pace maybe behind? But it's a small sample size. He gets two next game, he's back at a 60-goal pace. That's what we expect. That's what he's shown for us."

2. More 'Bob'

Coach Paul Maurice declined to name a starting goalie for Game 6, but after Sergei Bobrovsky made 44 saves in Game 5, it would be difficult to envision someone else in net Friday.
Bobrovsky is a two-time winner of the Vezina Trophy (2013, 2017) as the best goalie in the NHL. He has the history and the potential, and he was the one to extend the season for the Panthers.
Now Florida needs more of that from him.
"All the confidence in the world," Reinhart said. "To see how he works every day, all season long, all summer long, it's no question he's comfortable in those kind of situations."

3. Keeping it simple

It's certainly a cliché, but it's a cliché for a reason. And the Bruins want nothing more than to keep their game simple as they head back on the road. It's what allowed them to win Games 3 and 4 at FLA Live Arena.
Montgomery and a few of his players said that at home the Bruins have been trying to do too much, to perform in front of their fans, getting fancier than they need to be. In theory, the same issue won't be a problem in Florida.
"We're not making these gaffes on the road, we're simplifying there," Montgomery said. "Opportunity for us to get better because we might have a Game 7, we might have Games 1 and 2 at home."

Bruins projected lineup

Brad Marchand -- Patrice Bergeron -- Jake DeBrusk
Tyler Bertuzzi -- Pavel Zacha -- David Pastrnak
Taylor Hall -- Charlie Coyle -- Trent Frederic
Nick Foligno -- Tomas Nosek -- Garnet Hathaway
Dmitry Orlov -- Charlie McAvoy
Hampus Lindholm -- Brandon Carlo
Derek Forbort -- Connor Clifton
Linus Ullmark
Jeremy Swayman
Scratched: Jakub Zboril, Brandon Bussi, Jakub Lauko, A.J. Greer, Matt Grzelcyk
Injured: David Krejci (upper body)

Panthers projected lineup

Carter Verhaeghe -- Aleksander Barkov -- Anthony Duclair
Nick Cousins -- Sam Bennett -- Matthew Tkachuk
Eetu Luostarinen -- Anton Lundell -- Sam Reinhart
Zac Dalpe -- Eric Staal -- Colin White
Gustav Forsling -- Aaron Ekblad
Marc Staal -- Brandon Montour
Josh Mahura -- Radko Gudas
Sergei Bobrovsky
Alex Lyon
Scratched: Givani Smith, Mike Benning, Casey Fitzgerald, Evan Fitzpatrick
Injured: Patric Hornqvist (concussion), Ryan Lomberg (upper body)

Status report

Montgomery said Krejci would take part in warmups to determine whether the forward can return to the lineup for the first time since Game 2. … Clifton will play after being scratched the past three games. … Lomberg, a forward, has been ruled out for the remainder of the series.
NHL.com independent correspondent Alain Poupart contributed to this report