Heinen injured; Matthews out for Leafs

Bruins

Johnny Beecher and Kevin Shattenkirk are both expected to return to the lineup after being scratched for Game 5.

Jim Montgomery largely returns to the Bruins lineup that won Games 3 and 4 against the Maple Leafs in Toronto, but an injury will take a middle-six forward out of the equation for Game 6 on Thursday night.

Montgomery has ruled out Danton Heinen, naming the striker as “day by day” to move forward. Since last week, it has been reported that Heinen has been hampered by injury, as the 28-year-old forward took a few days for maintenance during this first-round series against Toronto.

Heinen only had one assist in this series, but it was the main assist in Brad Marchand’s game-winning total in Game 3.

With Heinen out, Justin Brazeau will remain in the lineup and skate on a third line alongside Trent Frederic and James van Riemsdyk.

Beyond Heinen’s injury, the Bruins are rolling with a group similar to the one that put Toronto on the brink of elimination, with Johnny Beecher back on the fourth line and Kevin Shattenkirk replacing Matt Grzelcyk on the blue line.

Here is the projected Boston lineup, based on Thursday’s morning workout:

Brad Marchand – Charlie Coyle – Morgan Geekie
Jake DeBrusk – Pavel Zacha – David Pastrnak
James van Riemsdyk – Trent Frédéric – Justin Brazeau
Johnny Beecher – Jesper Boqvist – Pat Maroon

Mason Lohrei – Charlie McAvoy
Brandon Carlo – Hampus Lindholm
Parker Wotherspoon – Kevin Shattenkirk

Jeremiah Swayman
Linus Ullmark

Brandon Carlo dodged a bullet due to injury while recovering the puck high in the final minutes of the third period of Game 5. However, the veteran defenseman will be allowed to play Thursday night without any restrictions.

Montgomery did not say which goalie would get the nod Thursday night, but Linus Ullmark was on the ice late with more scratches expected like Grzelcyk, Jakub Lauko and others – signaling that Jeremy Swayman will make his fourth straight start in this series.

Swayman is 3-1 in this series against Toronto with a .952 save percentage. The 25-year-old goalie is coming off a loss, but he was still solid in front of the net in Game 5 (31 saves on 33 shots).

The Maple Leafs will once again look to keep their season alive and force Game 7 without their best player, Auston Matthews. Toronto head coach Sheldon Keefe confirmed that Matthews will miss his second consecutive game Thursday evening due to ongoing illness.

Even though Toronto won Game 5 without Matthews, the star center will be missed.

Matthews scored a league-high 69 goals during the regular season and was the Leafs’ best player in their Game 2 victory in Boston last week – recording three points in 23:24 of time of ice while adding a team-high eight shots on goal. six hits and winning 16 of 23 faceoffs.

But Matthews, who missed practice in the days following that victory, was unable to carry that momentum into Games 3 and 4 – posting zero points in both losses with a total of four shots on goal. aim.

Puck drop for Game 6 is scheduled for 8 p.m. in Toronto.