Questions arising regarding the Bruins-Lightning series of the Eastern Conference Finals Play-offs (Part 3)
Are there going to be changes in the upcoming games?
The team wasn’t able to come up with the best of performances in the fourth game of the series. They were highly pressurized by Lightning, which may have helped them in a way to identify the problems in their game.
Even Bruins’ coach, Claude Julien, accepted the fact that he wasn’t able to see the best out of his players. With the loyalty the players show to the coach and the loyalty that he shows to the players, it is highly unlikely that there will be any changes in the team.
Moreover, it is a question of being able to trust a player and Julien trusts his players.
However, he didn’t rule out changes to the team in the upcoming games as he believes that it is not an individual that needs to shine but it is the performance of the team that is vital for success.
"We'll dress 23 for warmups and if there are changes, we'll make them after the warmups", Julien said.
There are a few possible inclusions in the team for the upcoming games as some important players are returning from injury.
The players making a comeback include Shane Hnidy and Steven Kampfer. Both players were suffering from knee problems and are ready to be included in the team.
It is almost certain that Shawn Thornton would be included in the near future since the player is training and feels good about his health.
Tomas Kaberle is a player, very unlikely to be replaced. Although he wasn’t fully fit to play, the coach included him in the fifth game and it is likely that he will carry on playing until the end of the series.
Who will be the goal keeper for Tampa Bay Lightning?
Guy Boucher, Lightning’s coach, was asked several times as to who would be starting as his goalkeeper in the next games. Each time he steers away the conversation and didn’t give a convincing answer. There are speculations that Dwayne Roloson might not start the game after the three goals he conceded in the first period of the fourth game.
This proved to be the case in the fifth game as Mike Smith, who replaced Roloson after the first period of the fourth game, started the game and remained in goal for the entire 60 minutes, making 18 saves during the game.
However, Smith couldn’t replicate his fourth game’s performance which makes the decision of picking the goalkeeper for the sixth game even more difficult.
It still remains to be seen as to who would start but this time Roloson would probably be preferred due to his experience and recent performances, save his most recent performance.
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