Nick Goss

Bruins vs. Panthers Game 2 lineup: Projected lines, pairings, goalies

The Bruins haven't had a 2-0 series lead since the 2019 Eastern Conference Final.

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The Boston Bruins showed no signs of wear and tear in Game 1 of their second-round playoff series versus the Florida Panthers despite playing in Game 7 of their first-round series just 48 hours before.

The B's had tremendous energy and played with great physicality in a dominant 5-1 win over the Panthers at Amerant Bank Arena on Monday night.

Can the Bruins replicate that success in Wednesday night's Game 2? The last time the Bruins played in Round 2, they won Game 1 against the New York Islanders in 2021, then lost Game 2 and ultimately were eliminated in six games. Boston defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 6-2 on the road in Game 1 of the second round in 2018, only to lose each of the next four games.

One reason for optimism if you're a Bruins fan is the team's recent play on the road. The Bruins are 3-1-0 away from home in the 2024 playoffs with 3.25 goals scored per game, 1.50 goals allowed per game, a 33.3 power-play percentage and a perfect 100 percent rate on the penalty kill.

No major lineup changes are expected for the Bruins on Wednesday. Jesper Boqvist is back in for Patrick Brown at fourth-line center.

If Jeremy Swayman starts Game 2, it'll be his seventh consecutive appearance in net. He has never started that many games in a row during his NHL career. But he has shown no signs of physical wear and tear. And it would be foolish to sit a goalie with a league-leading .955 save percentage in the playoffs. The Bruins need to ride the hot hand for as long as they can.

The Panthers will once again be without center Sam Bennett, but he could potentially return to the lineup when the series shifts to Boston later this week.

The Panthers have won four of their last five Game 2s. The Bruins have lost their last four Game 2s.

Here are the projected lineups for Bruins-Panthers Game 2.

Boston Bruins (1-0)

Forwards

Brad Marchand--Charlie Coyle--Jake DeBrusk

Pavel Zacha--Morgan Geekie--David Pastrnak

James van Riemsdyk--Trent Frederic--Justin Brazeau

John Beecher--Patrick Brown/Jesper Boqvist--Pat Maroon

Defensemen

Mason Lohrei--Charlie McAvoy

Hampus Lindholm--Brandon Carlo

Derek Forbort--Parker Wotherspoon

Goalie

Jeremy Swayman

Florida Panthers (0-1)

Forwards

Carter Verhaeghe--Aleksander Barkov--Matthew Tkachuk

Eetu Luostarinen--Anton Lundell--Sam Reinhart

Evan Rodrigues--Kevin Stenlund--Vladimir Tarasenko

Nick Cousins--Steven Lorentz--Kyle Okposo

Defensemen

Gustav Forsling--Aaron Ekblad

Niko Mikkola--Brandon Montour

Oliver Ekman-Larsson--Dmitry Kulikov

Goalie

Sergei Bobrovsky

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