Heinen, Matthews’ status still unclear

“We’re a 109-point team for a reason. Right? And go in and enjoy the moment,” Montgomery said of his message to his team Saturday. “Like, these are moments when you were a kid that you want to be put in these situations. And now it’s incumbent on you to embrace it.”

It remains to be seen if the Bruins will make any sizable changes to their lineup Saturday night. Boston’s Game 6 lineup didn’t generate much against Joseph Woll and the Leafs, but it was similar to the roster that also posted wins in Games 3 and 4 at Scotiabank Arena.

The one missing component in Game 6 was forward Danton Heinen, who missed Thursday’s 2-1 loss due to injury. Heinen took part in Saturday’s morning skate, but his availability remains in question. 

“We’re not sure yet,” Montgomery said of Heinen’s status for Game 7. “We’re going to see how he feels later.”

Defenseman Andrew Peeke also skated Saturday and even took part in some reps on the penalty kill, but Montgomery added that the blueliner hasn’t been cleared yet to play. Peeke suffered an upper-body injury in Game 2 against Toronto and has been placed on a “week-to-week” recovery timeline since then. 

Regardless of Boston’s lineup configuration on Saturday, the Bruins will need its star players to elevate their respective games in order to get past Toronto. David Pastrnak (two goals, two assists in six games this series) is due for a breakout, especially after getting called out by Montgomery on Thursday night. 

“I talked to him right after the game about it,” Montgomery said of how Pastrnak received said message. “I talked to him about it during the game. Pasta and I have a real healthy communicative relationship and he’s ready to go.”

Montgomery did not announce a starting goalie, but the odds favor Jeremy Swayman getting the nod in net for the fifth straight game. Swayman is 3-2 in this series, sporting a .947 save percentage.

The Maple Leafs also offered up little in terms of concrete info regarding their lineup, with all of Toronto’s forwards donning the same colored sweater during morning skate at TD Garden.

Toronto’s star forward Auston Matthews took part in the full 15-minute skate with his teammates, but his availability for Game 7 remains in question. 

“We’ll see what the day brings,” Toronto head coach Sheldon Keefe said following morning skate. “But as of right now, we’ve got all of our forwards that have been playing in the series preparing to play. …  So with Auston, obviously if he’s available — you’re going to use him. But as of right now, we’re proceeding as we’ve been.” 

Matthews has missed the last two games for Toronto due to illness/injury, with Toronto managing to post two straight wins over that stretch in order to keep their season alive. Still, the Maple Leafs would welcome back a 69-goal scorer like Matthews if he was available, especially in a do-or-die Game 7. 

“When your star player goes out, you gotta up your compete and they’ve done that,” Charlie Coyle said of Toronto’s recent play. Give them credit, they’ve done that. And that’s something we have to do and as we’ve talked about before — finding ways to get to the net, getting that puck through, having bodies in front, taking away [Woll’s] eyes.”

Puck drop between the Bruins and Maple Leafs is set for 8 p.m. Saturday.