The second-round Stanley Cup Playoff series between the Boston Bruins and New York Islanders has shifted to Nassau Coliseum for Game 3 on Thursday night.
The Islanders blew a two-goal lead in the third period of Game 2 but won in overtime when Jeremy Lauzon's ill-advised pass took a bad bounce and allowed Casey Cizikas to skate in on a breakaway and score the winning goal.
The atmosphere at TD Garden during the first two games was awesome as the arena was allowed to be at near-full capacity for the first time all season. Nassau Coliseum will be close to full capacity, too, with up to 12,000 fans able to attend the three games in Long Island this series.
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Why Bruins should remain optimistic entering Game 3 vs. Islanders
The B's have actually been pretty good on the road in their last couple playoff runs, including an impressive 8-3 mark away from home during the 2019 playoffs.
Craig Smith could return for the B's after missing Game 2 with a lower body injury. The veteran forward practiced Wednesday and will take part in Thursday's morning skate. B's head coach Bruce Cassidy said if Smith plays in Game 3, Karson Kuhlman will come out of the lineup. If Smith doesn't play, the B's will use the same lineup as Game 2.
"We anticipate he'll play," Cassidy said of Smith.
Boston Bruins
Tuukka Rask (Bruins) and Semyon Varlamov (Isles) are expected to be the starting goalies.
Here are the projected lines and pairings for Bruins vs. Islanders Game 3.
BOSTON BRUINS
FORWARDS
Brad Marchand--Patrice Bergeron--David Pastrnak
Taylor Hall--David Krejci--Craig Smith/Jake DeBrusk
Nick Ritchie--Charlie Coyle--Jake DeBrusk/Karson Kuhlman
Sean Kuraly--Curtis Lazar--Chris Wagner
DEFENSEMEN
Matt Grzelcyk--Charlie McAvoy
Mike Reilly--Brandon Carlo
Jeremy Lauzon--Connor Clifton
GOALIES
Tuukka Rask (starter), Jeremy Swayman (backup)
NEW YORK ISLANDERS
FORWARDS
Leo Komarov--Matthew Barzal--Jordan Eberle
Anthony Beauvillier--Brock Nelson--Josh Bailey
Kyle Palmieri--John-Gabriel Pageau--Travis Zajac
Matt Martin--Casey Cizikas--Cal Clutterbuck
DEFENSEMEN
Adam Pelech--Ryan Pulock
Nick Leddy--Scott Mayfield
Andy Greene--Noah Dobson
GOALIES
Semyon Varlamov (starter), Ilya Sorokin (backup)