Bruins playoff notebook: Swayman gets start for Game 3; Lindholm ruled out

When it comes to doling out blame for the Bruins’ current predicament — down two games in their first-round bout with Carolina — Linus Ullmark should fall far down the list.

Even though the veteran netminder has been tagged for four goals in each of Boston’s first two tilts with the Hurricanes, a majority of those tallies have usually come as a result of D-zone breakdowns, deflections and misgivings made by B’s players in front of Ullmark. 

Still, be it the need for an additional save or two in a series with little margin for error — or perhaps just as a spark ahead of a return to TD Garden — Bruce Cassidy is set to turn to Jeremy Swayman for Friday’s Game 3 matchup, with the rookie netminder set to make his first career postseason start.

"I think Linus has been fine," Cassidy said. "As I said after Game 1, I think we've got to do a better job at the other end, but if it ends up being one of those 2-1 games, we need a performance where we get that timely save and give the guys some life. That's where we're at right now. They're scoring goals and they're not giving very many up.

“There's a little bit to do with both things. I'm not saying Ullmark's the reason - he's not - but Swayman's gonna be in there. He'll get his opportunity. We talked about maybe at some point using both, so it's gonna be (Friday). Hopefully he's up for the task."

Even though Swayman ended the regular season in a bit of a rut (.877 save percentage over final 10 games, 4-6-0 record), the Bruins don’t have a whole lot to lose by turning to the youngster at this point. 

Much like how Ullmark ultimately didn’t decide Games 1 or 2, the Bruins are going to be cooked regardless of who’s in net if they continue to whiff on chances down the other end of the ice. 

Lindholm ruled out; changes up front

In a far-from-surprising development, Cassidy confirmed on Thursday morning that Hampus Lindholm will not play in Game 3 after getting rocked by Andrei Svechnikov during the second period of Wednesday’s Game 2 loss.

If you want to hold onto one sliver of good news, the 28-year-old defenseman did manage to travel back with the team to Boston (Cassidy was unsure on Wednesday if he was going to remain back in North Carolina for further testing). However, it’s pretty evident that Lindholm isn’t going to be available for a good chunk of time. 

In terms of replacements, it looks as though Mike Reilly will be the next man up on the left side, although it’s unclear where he will skate on Boston’s depth chart (Boston remained off the ice at Warrior on Thursday). 

"He's a left shot, he's played a lot of games for us," Cassidy said of Reilly. "Right now, that would be the obvious choice to go in. He's played with Charlie McAvoy, he's played with Carlo. There shouldn't be any adjustment period in terms of who he's playing with. The adjustment period for him will be he's getting injected into a very intense, physical playoff series. He's got to be prepared for that type of hockey."

As for other lineup switcheroos, Cassidy noted that the Bruins could look at making changes elsewhere — with the insertion of a bruiser like Anton Blidh or Chris Wagner in the bottom-six standing as a potential move.

"We'll look at a few things," Cassidy said. "The guys are off today. We'll see where our health is. I don't anticipate anybody not being able to play physically but we'll have to look and see what's best for the team."

David Pastrnak … destroyer of goalies?

As unfortunate as it was to see Antti Raanta exit Wednesday’s game in the first period after a collision with David Pastrnak — it looked more like an unfortunate in-game situation, as opposed to a malicious move by a player of Pastrnak’s profile. 

(Raanta was also dinged up following Pastrnak’s hit, as one of his own teammates inadvertently made contact with his head as he skated past.)

But clearly, Carolina head coach Rod Brind’Amour had an issue with Pastrnak’s infraction, which was initially deemed a five-minute major before eventually getting reduced to a two-minute minor. 

When asked about Lindholm’s injury, the Canes coach immediately pivoted to Raanta’s hit and subsequent exit. 

"You never want to see guys get hurt. I don’t like seeing our goalie get taken out either,” he said. “But one was legal, one’s not, if you really want to break it down.”

When a reporter followed up by asking if he thought the Bruins were intentionally targeting his goalies, Brind’Amour didn’t hesitate. 

“What do you think? It can’t get any more obvious,” Brind’Amour said.

Interesting comments, to say the least. Especially when factoring in who exactly “ran” Raanta in that sequence. 

“It’s David Pastrnak. We’re on the power play,” Cassidy noted. “He’s trying to chase down the puck. Do you think his intention is to (hit him)? That’s why they changed it from a five to a two. His foot caught his pad. He’s trying to block the clear, but get out of the way. I don’t think there’s any intent there at all. That was a freak play.”

Marchand, Forbort fined

After a chippy Game 2 loss in which it seemed like just about every Bruin ended up in the sin bin at one point, both Brad Marchand and Derek Forbort are going to be a little lighter in the wallet.

 Marchand was fined $5,000 for slashing Hurricanes goalie Pyotr Kochetkov on Wednesday, while Forbort was fined $5,000 for high-sticking Teuvo Teravainen during the same game.