Game 1: Boston Bruins Vs. New York Islanders Lines, Preview

The Boston Bruins and New York islanders kick off their second-round series tonight (8 PM ET, NBC, Sportsnet, TVAS) at what’s expected to be as close as possible to a sellout crowd thanks to the state of Massachusetts reopening on Saturday.

“We’re excited. Been a little envious watching the other games … Can’t wait to see that and how loud it’s going to be,” Boston winger Brad Marchand said on Saturday.

With the New York Islanders also able to play in front of an almost full capacity (13,900) crowd of 12,000 fans in the second round, the seventh man will surely play a huge role in this series.

“People are going to be nuts because they’ve been sitting there and they haven’t been able to go to a lot of games, and they’re going to be even that much more passionate about it,” former Boston Bruins winger Mark Recchi told Boston Hockey Now on Friday night.

This is the moment Boston bruins fans and players have been waiting for and it couldn’t come at a better time as the Bruins try to advance to the third round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the fourth time in the last ten seasons.

Bruins Notes

-Boston Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask will be back between the pipes after going 4-1 with a 1.81 GAA and a .941 save percentage in the first round.

-Defenseman Kevan Miller remains out of the lineup with a concussion and there is no timetable for his return. Defenseman John Moore and forward Ondrej Kase have been ruled out for the season.

-Rookie defenseman Jeremy Lauzon will return to the lineup after missing the final four games of the Bruins’ five-game series win over the Washington Capitals in the first round.

–The Bruins’ powerplay is now 5-for-19 in the Stanley Cup Playoffs after going 0-for-3 in Game 5 against the Capitals. The Boston Bruins are scoring at a 26.3% clip on the powerplay.

-After killing off all four Capitals’ powerplays in Game 5, the Bruins penalty kill has now killed off 18 of 21 power-play attempts against in the playoffs for an 85.7 success rate.

New York Islanders Notes

-Illya Sorokin will start for the Islanders tonight. Sorokin was sensational in the first round after replacing Semyon Varlamov. He is 4-0 with a 1.95 GAA and a .943 save percentage in the playoffs.

-New York Islanders star Mathew Barzal had three points – all assists – in the six-game, first-round win over the Pittsburgh Penguins but appeared to be finding his stride in Game 6.

-The Islanders’ powerplay is 3-for-16 with an 18.8% success rate in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

-The Islanders’ penalty kill has killed off 9 of 12 power-play attempts against in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, giving them a 75 percent success rate.

Boston Bruins Lines

Forwards:

Brad Marchand – Patrice Bergeron – David Pastrnak

Taylor Hall – David Krejci – Craig Smith

Nick Ritchie – Charlie Coyle – Jake DeBrusk

Sean Kuraly – Curtis Lazar – Chris Wagner 

Defense:

Matt Grzelcyk – Charlie McAvoy

Mike Reilly – Brandon Carlo

Jeremy Lauzon – Connor Clifton

Goalies:

Tuukka Rask

Jeremy Swayman

New York Islanders Lines

Forwards

Leo Komarov — Mathew Barzal — Jordan Eberle

Anthony Beauvillier — Brock Nelson — Josh Bailey

Kyle Palmieri – Jean-Gabriel Pageau – Travis Zajac

Matt Martin — Casey Cizikas — Cal Clutterbuck

Defense

Adam Pelech — Ryan Pulock

Nick Leddy — Scott Mayfield

Andy Greene — Noah Dobson

Goalies

Ilya Sorokin

Semyon Varlamov