Bruce Cassidy considering a lineup change for Game 6

TORONTO — A ticket to Round 2 of the playoffs perhaps as close as 60 minutes away, Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said Monday morning that he is considering a lineup change for Game 6 of his club’s first-round matchup with the Maple Leafs.

“We’re deliberating,’’ said Cassidy, following his club’s workout at Air Canada Centre. “Everybody is healthy, so there won’t be anyone out, at least as of right now, that I’m aware of. But we may tinker with the lineup, yes,’’

The morning workout was optional, making it difficult to speculate on what change Cassidy might be considering. With speed and youth key components of the Leafs attack, Cassidy could bring raw rookie Ryan Donato back into the lineup. Donato played in Game 2, only sparingly (9:24 ice time), but has the legs and the scoring ability that Cassidy might value in a potential closeout game. If Donato or Tommy Wingels were to draw in, Danton Heinen (0-0—0 in five games) would be the likely scratch. Aside from his lack of production, Heinen’s presence has been inconsistent throughout the five games. If it’s purely a body-for-body consideration, and not a change made because of injury, then Donato-for-Heinen would be a likely play. Or Cassidy could choose the more conservative Wingels.

The Bruins failed to close out the series Saturday night in Boston, but still own a three-games-to-two advantage in the best-of-seven series. The winner will face the Tampa Bay Lightning in Round 2, a series likely to begin Saturday in Tampa Bay.

Rask back in goal

Tuukka Rask (3-2, .904 save percentage), yanked in Game 5 after giving up four goals, was back on the job here for Game 6.

“Some of it, we’ll see tonight, obviously,’’ said Cassidy, pondering what Rask’s mind-set would be 48 hours later. “At this time of year, in the playoffs, you’ve got to have a short memory. That’s a position you generally have to have a short memory. You don’t want to drag stuff into your next start, no matter what time of year, but specifically this time of the year.’’

Rask stopped only 9 of 13 shots he faced in Game 4, yielding to backup Anton Khudobin, who stopped all eight shots he faced over the remaining 26:37.

“He had a real good game in Game 4, after we lost a game — which wasn’t on him, but we lost — so hopefully that’s the case tonight,’’ said Cassidy. “He’s a good playoff goaltender. We just have to be a little better in front of him to give him some confidence. We didn’t do enough in the first period the other night.’’

Dropoff from top

In the first two games of the series, Boston’s top line of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, and David Pastrnak rolled up a bountiful 20 points, which included Pastrnak’s 3-3—6 night in Game 2.

The trio then delivered only 3 points (1-2—3) in the following three games, albeit with Bergeron sidelined in Game 4 with an injury.

“We do believe that we can win without them scoring,’’ said Cassidy. “Maybe it hasn’t happened yet, but we do believe that can happen. It happened all year for us. We had secondary scoring and played good team defense.’’

Leafs coach Mike Babcock kiddingly said, “We have?’’ when it was pointed out that the Blue and White held down Boston’s top line in the three game prior to Monday night.

“They are good players, and they can play without the puck,’’ said Cassidy. “They get the puck back fast and they compete hard at a high level.

“Lots of good lines in the league can’t check; they can do both, and that’s what makes them so dangerous. They can play against anybody at any time. They play in all situations, so they never sit on the bench and get cold.’’