BRUINS JOURNAL: Schedule might be both teams’ toughest opponent

As the eight teams still alive in the Stanley Cup playoffs approached their fifth week in two NHL host cities on Sunday, talk had been increasing about whether separation from family, limits on activities, and hotel life were creating "bubble fatigue" for players and staff.

As Round 2 began, though, the topic shifted to plain-old fatigue.

The Bruins and Lightning played Game 1 of the second round on Sunday night, the first of four games they’ll play in six nights. [...]

As the eight teams still alive in the Stanley Cup playoffs approached their fifth week in two NHL host cities on Sunday, talk had been increasing about whether separation from family, limits on activities, and hotel life were creating "bubble fatigue" for players and staff.

As Round 2 began, though, the topic shifted to plain-old fatigue.

The Bruins and Lightning played Game 1 of the second round on Sunday night, the first of four games they’ll play in six nights. Games 2 and 3 come on consecutive nights (Tuesday and Wednesday), and Game 4 will be on Friday. Then there’s the potential for Games 6 and 7 to be played on back-to-back dates, too.

"I’m a little surprised it came out that way, that we wouldn’t alternate (every other) night," Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said. "It sure would be easier for us, and I’m sure (the Lightning) would say the same."

The Bruins didn’t take any injuries into Round 2 after their five-game, first-round victory over the Hurricanes. But they are undermanned because No. 1 goalie Tuukka Rask left the Eastern Conference bubble in Toronto last Saturday to return to his family.

Jaroslav Halak, elevated to No. 1 when Rask left, dodged a back-to-back situation when he and the B’s closed out the Hurricanes on Wednesday (Game 6 would have been played on Thursday). But a Tuesday-Wednesday scenario is a certainty this week. Cassidy’s option of dividing those games between two proven NHL goalies was lost when Rask left, leaving the coach to decide if 23-year-old Dan Vladar will make his NHL debut in a playoff game.

"The biggest challenge is the advantage we lost in March (when the regular season was halted by the COVID-19 pandemic)," Cassidy said. "Now, Tuukka is not here, so do we play Vladar as a backup, or do we have to ride Halak?

"That’s a lot to ask for (Halak), so that’s going to be a decision we make down the road."

Cassidy feels that the Bruins, who used 23 skaters (15 forwards, eight defensemen) through their three-game round-robin tournament and five-game first round, have the depth to handle fatigue, but injuries are a different matter.

"Three (games) in four nights, with a back-to-back, we can move different pieces in and we don’t feel that our game drops off significantly, or at all, when we move different pieces around," the coach said. "But if a guy gets a nagging injury and we start those back-to-backs, he doesn’t have a chance to recover. Those are the intangibles of it, the unknowns. … Hopefully we don’t run into those scenarios where guys do need extra time to recover."

Cassidy altered his third and fourth lines for Game 1. Nick Ritchie, a healthy scratch for the last three games of the Carolina series, re-entered the lineup with Anders Bjork, who didn’t play Game 5. They played on the Charlie Coyle-centered third line, leaving rookie Jack Studnicka out of the lineup, while Sean Kuraly’s move from the third line back to No. 4 center bumped Par Lindholm, who played the last three games of the first round.

Still no Stamkos

Lightning captain Steven Stamkos remained unavailable to start the second round, and coach Jon Cooper continued to offer little information on the status of his star forward, who finished second on the team in goals (29) and points (66) despite missing 13 of 70 regular-season games.

"I’ll just give the exact same answer I did in the first round," Cooper said. "(Stamkos) is not available right now. (He’s) rehabbing. When he’s going to be available, I’ll let you know, but there’s no further updates. I’ll address it if he becomes available, but it’s pointless to keep asking about it."

Stamkos had core muscle surgery in early March, and suffered a lower-body injury during Phase 2 of the pause in the season, which allowed players to skate and work out in small groups in their home markets.

Around the boards

The tight schedule wasn’t unique to the Bruins-Lightning series. The Islanders-Flyers series in Toronto calls for back-to-backs for Games 2-3 and Games 6-7. In the Western Conference bubble in Edmonton, however, the Stars-Avalanche and Golden Knights-Canucks series faced the prospect only once, in Games 5 and 6. … The Lightning had used No. 1 goalie Andrei Vasilivskiy for all eight games (three round robin, five Round 1) entering the series. The backup is Curtis McElhinney, whom the B’s beat in Games 3 and 4 of last year’s Eastern Conference final against the Hurricanes. … Halak entered the series with a 4-5-0 career record against the Lightning (2.93 goals-against average, .893 saves percentage). He hasn’t played against them in two years as a Bruin.