Here are the lineup changes that could await the Bruins in Game 1

Bruins

“Well, you know, we’ve always said we have a plan in place, and that continues for this series,” coach Jim Montgomery said before Monday’s opener against the Panthers.

SUNRISE, Fla. — The Boston Bruins arrived in South Florida hoping to build on momentum from their last thrilling Game 7 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs two nights ago. But a quick turnaround awaits them with a two-day stopover before the second round against the Panthers.

The tight schedule isn’t the only twist the Bruins will face heading into Monday’s series opener.

Indeed, Monday’s practice featured a handful of developments involving potential roster moves and a member of the Bruins entering fatherhood for the first time. Let’s move on to the main talking points after Boston’s pre-series workout at Amerant Bank Arena.

Bruins ‘hopeful’ Brandon Carlo arrives after new addition to his ‘crew’

Brandon Carlo remained in Boston just hours after Game 7 with a newborn on the way. Early Monday morning, Carlo and his wife, Mayson, welcomed a baby boy into the world.

“First of all,” said head coach Jim Montgomery, “I want to congratulate Brandon and Mayson on the new addition to their family, Crew.”

While Carlo was home caring for his newest family member, the Bruins changed up their second and third defensive pairings during morning runs.

Parker Wotherspoon moved to the second pair next to Hampus Lindholm. The latter produced one of his best 200-foot performances of the season in Game 7, highlighted by his tying goal in the third and his nifty pass on David Pastrnak’s game-winning overtime goal.

Derek Forbort took Wotherspoon’s place on Boston’s third pairing alongside Kevin Shattenkirk. Forbort was recently cleared for full contact by the Bruins training staff after a surprisingly quick recovery from surgery to repair multiple nagging injuries.

Andrew Peeke continues to progress after suffering a lower-body injury in Game 2 against the Leafs, but the Florida defenseman is not an option for Monday.

Matt Grzelcyk, who last skated in Game 5, joins Forbort as a potential replacement for Carlo. Montgomery has no definitive update on Carlo’s status for the opener against Florida, but he remains “hopeful” that he will rejoin his fellow Boston team members before the scheduled puck drop at 20 hours.

Patrick Brown goes from Game 7 spectator to potential contributor on the fourth line.

Like the rest of the club, Brown remained on the edge of his seat, riding the emotions of Boston’s Game 7 victory.

The next day, Brown received a phone call from Don Sweeney confirming his emergency promotion from Providence.

“It was an awesome game,” Brown said. “I was watching. I had goosebumps watching that all that time ago. So I think you know it’s a great motivator, and we play for each other and we saw that in victories and defeats this year.

Brown should also feel motivated by his recent outings in Providence.

The veteran forward has points in his last seven games, including three in the first two Calder Cup playoff games of the Baby B’s Atlantic Division semifinal series against Hartford.

Brown replaced Jesper Boqvist as the center on Boston’s fourth line alongside Johnny Beecher, who spent time together on a line in Providence earlier this year, and Pat Maroon on the line runs.

“The execution effort, his play every time he’s played for us, it’s great, right?” Montgomery said of Brown. “Second and third effort, strong on the pucks, wins a lot of battles and his execution the way we want to play. He knows exactly what we do in every situation.

The pre-play plan for Boston’s goaltending rotation continues.

The Bruins stuck with their goalie rotation early in the first round. But after another stellar outing from Game 1 starter Jeremy Swayman in Game 3, the B’s rode the fourth-year goalie through the rest of the Toronto series.

They had every reason to change their plans involving Swayman and Linus Ullmark. And Swayman made the most of his long streak, allowing just nine goals in his six starts against the Maple Leafs.

Now they have every reason to give Swayman a break.

Ullmark hasn’t started since Game 2 against Toronto two weeks ago. But the Panthers also enter Game 1 a little rusty after earning their series win over the Tampa Bay Lightning last Monday.

Like Swayman against the Leafs, Ullmark provided excellent results in the regular season against Florida. After battling wear and tear in the second half of last year’s first-round game, the Swede posted a .947 save percentage and went a perfect 3-0 against the Panthers.

Still, if the morning’s developments are to be believed, the Bruins could go straight back to Swayman. He was the first to leave the ice after the morning skate, while Ullmark remained on the ice with the additional skaters.

Montgomery would not commit to naming his starter for the first game. But like in preparation for the Toronto series, they have an idea in advance on how to handle Swayman and Ullmark’s workload.

“Well, you know, we always said we had a plan in place, and that continues for this series,” Montgomery said. “It’s the same plan we had, and we have to know that there is something to consider in the number of games we play. And the fact that neither goalie has played that many games in such a short time, and then there’s the added adrenaline and emotion of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, all factors in our decision.