Jim Montgomery shuffled his entire lineup for the Boston Bruins' game against the Washington Capitals on Saturday.
Jim Montgomery shuffled his entire lineup for the Boston Bruins' game against the Washington Capitals on Saturday.
The Boston Bruins’ backend had a new look Saturday against the Washington Capitals, and it might stick.
Bruins coach Jim Montgomery shuffled his entire lineup for the eventual 3-2 shootout win, experimenting with the chemistry within his roster as the playoffs near. Montgomery said Monday following Bruins practice that some of the changes are matchup-based, namely the first pair of Hampus Lindholm and Charlie McAvoy.
McAvoy is a first-pair stalwart, but has played alongside Matt Grzelcyk for a majority of the season. Lindholm had been skating on the second pair with Brandon Carlo – a duo that provides consistency and security for Boston on most nights.
However, when facing a top-heavy team like the Capitals, Montgomery put his – arguably – two best defensemen together for battle. It’s a move the coach said he could see working in the playoffs, too.
“Depending on matchups, depending on what the other team has, yeah. If the other team has one dominant line and we’re at home and we can match them up against them – yeah, we’re gonna do it,” Montgomery said.
Lindholm and McAvoy logged 26:08 and 27:50, respectively, of total ice time Saturday and were not on the ice for any goals against. What’s more, Lindholm potted just his second goal of the season – and first since Nov. 23 – to give the Bruins a 1-0 first-period lead.
Last season, Lindholm finished with 10 goals and 43 assists. His offensive prowess has been a smaller part of his game this year with 25 points (two goals, 23 assists) through 66 games thus far. Perhaps, playing with McAvoy – who leads Bruins defensemen with 44 points (10 goals, 34 assists) – can spark Lindholm at the most important time of the season.
“The pros are you have two physical, high-end players that can physically matchup against the other team’s best players, that can skate with the other team’s best players, that can think or out-think the other team’s best players,” Montgomery said.
“The cons would be you have two alpha males – who is going to watch the other one go instead of two going?”
If kept together, Lindholm and McAvoy have seven regular season games to iron things out. A strength of this Bruins team, though, has been its versatility at the blueline and seemingly interchangeable combinations.
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