Game 6: Boston Bruins Vs Carolina Hurricanes Lines, Betting, Preview

Here’s your Boston Hockey Now Boston Bruins Game Day Stanley Cup playoff preview:

Boston Bruins (51-26-5, 107 pts) vs Carolina Hurricanes (54-20-8-116 pts) in Game 6 of their first round series with Carolina holding a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series.

TIME: 7 PM ET

TV: NESN, BSSO, TNT, SN360, TVAS

Once again the Boston Bruins felt woefully short at Carolina’s home building, PNC Arena,  in falling 5-1 on Tuesday night to drop to a 3-2 deficit in the best-of-seven series. The Boston Bruins could only get one late goal past goaltender Antti Raanta and Carolina built on some penalty calls to score a pair of power play goals against the Black and Gold.

The Boston Bruins will be making some adjustments to the lineup as they’ve broken up the Perfection Line for the first time since Game 2, and will look to spark players like Erik Haula, Craig Smith and Jake DeBrusk that haven’t been all that productive in the series. Boston Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy called them the “middle of the order” and said the B’s need more out of them at both ends of the ice in an elimination game.

“We need to get some guys going and it’s on me to find ways to get them going,” said Boston Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy. “It’s also the time of the year where the inner drive needs to come through and that’s what we’re looking at.

“At the end of the day you need the guys behind [the Perfection Line] following it up and that’s what we’re looking at. The sort of middle of the order, whatever you want to call it, that they can bring more offensively, and if not then they need to be tighter defensively. Get the job done at the other end. Some nights it’s the top guys, special teams and goaltending, and that was the story in Boston. Obviously, the guys that are used to scoring want to contribute in that way, but help us win then if the puck isn’t following you. This isn’t the middle of the year and sort of ‘oh, we’ll get through it.’ This is a short series and maybe things will happen [offensively for them] in the next series, so that’s what being asked of the middle of the lineup right now.”

Jeremy Swayman (2-1-0, 2.69 GAA and .911 save percentage) will be starting his fourth game for the first time all season after getting into things for Game 3 with the B’s down 0-2 in the series.

Antti Raanta (1.96 GAA and .942 save percentage) will get the start for the Carolina Hurricanes coming off a brilliant Game 5 performance in Carolina where he stopped 33-of-34 shots and really got into the flow of the series.

Top Goals Saved Above Expected (Playoffs) – May 12

Jake Oettinger is doing his absolute best to steal this series for Dallas. pic.twitter.com/IL7mxDsgrB

— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) May 12, 2022

Betting: One thing you can bank on for Game 6 is that the Boston Bruins will come out fired up and have a good start as they try to stave off elimination. Can the Hurricanes survive that expected initial surge by the Bruins? That’s anyone’s guess as far as we’re concerned but take the Bruins PUCK LINE (-.5) at +160 in the first period.

Game Prediction: Bruins 4 Hurricanes 3

Boston Bruins Notes

-Hampus Lindholm will return to the Boston Bruins lineup after missing the last three games with an upper body injury after getting steamrolled by Andrei Svechnikov in Game 2. Trent Frederic returns to the Boston Bruins lineup as well as Chris Wagner will be a healthy scratch after playing in the last three games for Boston, and playing very well.

-Matt Grzelcyk will be scratched for the first time in this playoff series, with Bruce Cassidy indicating that he’s playing through injury while clearly struggling in Game 5. “He’s playing through a little bit of stuff,” said Bruce Cassidy. “He has been, all year.”

-A struggling Craig Smith has been held scoreless in the first five games of this playoff series and is due for a breakout for a Boston Bruins team that needs some secondary scoring.

-Brad Marchand leads the Boston Bruins with three goals and nine points in five games thus far, with most of the damage coming on home ice at TD Garden.

Carolina Hurricanes Notes

-Tony DeAngelo finished with the game-winning goal and three points in Tuesday night’s win over the Boston Bruins in Game 5, and has two different three-point games in this series while factoring in a big way.

-The Hurricanes have won 11 consecutive first round playoff games at PNC Arena and have scored the first goal in every single game in this current first round series against the Black and Gold.

-New Public Enemy No. 1 for Boston Bruins fans and Hurricanes defenseman Tony DeAngelo actually leads the Canes in points and assists with seven helpers and eight points in five games.

-It also happens to be Antti Raanta’s birthday on Thursday as he readies for an elimination against the Black and Gold.

Boston Bruins Lineup:

Forwards

Brad Marchand – Patrice Bergeron– Jake DeBrusk

Taylor Hall – Erik Haula – David Pastrnak

Trent Frederic  – Charlie Coyle – Craig Smith

Nick Foligno – Tomas Nosek – Curtis Lazar

Defense:

Hampus Lindholm-Charlie McAvoy

Mike Reilly – Brandon Carlo

Derek Forbort- Connor Clifton

Goalies:

Jeremy Swayman  

Carolina Hurricanes Lineup:

Forwards:

Andrei Svechnikov — Sebastian Aho — Seth Jarvis
Max Domi — Vincent Trocheck — Teuvo Teravainen
Nino Niederreiter — Jordan Staal — Jesper Fast
Derek Stepan — Jesperi Kotkaniemi — Martin Necas

Defensemen:

Jaccob Slavin — Tony DeAngelo
Brady Skjei — Brett Pesce
Brendan Smith – Ian Cole

Goalies:

Antti Raanta

Pyotr Kochetkov