BOSTON — The Bruins aren’t committing to a goaltender for Sport 2 of their first-round Stanley Cup playoff sequence in opposition to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday even after Jeremy Swayman’s dominant 35-save efficiency in Saturday’s 5-1 victory in Sport 1.
Boston has used Swayman and Linus Ullmark in strict rotation throughout the common season, and Boston’s coach Jim Montgomery could hold that sample alive within the playoffs, too.
“We’re nonetheless considering that and [deciding] if that is the way in which to go,” stated Montgomery following the Bruins’ group assembly Sunday.
Montgomery tapped Swayman over Ullmark for Sport 1 as a result of Swayman “hadn’t had the chance to start out a sequence earlier than within the final couple years … he did rather well.”
That wasn’t shocking given Swayman’s excellence in opposition to Toronto within the common season, posting a 3-0-0 file and .959 SV% in these earlier outings. Swayman held the Leafs principally at bay once more in a near-flawless efficiency Saturday, with David Kampf’s third-period strike the one blemish — when Boston was already main 4-0.
If Swayman hasn’t formally gotten the decision but for Monday’s recreation, it is clear he impressed Montgomery.
“It is going to be laborious to go away from [Swayman],” Montgomery stated Saturday. “He performed a terrific recreation. We win 5-1. But when we resolve to go together with Ullmark, we’re comfy with it and our group’s comfy with it.”
It was Swayman’s capability to close down the Leafs’ prime skaters — together with this season’s Rocket Richard Trophy winner Auston Matthews — that caught Montgomery’s consideration and the way in which Swayman stood tall in tense moments.
“I believed his athleticism allowed him to make some actually bouncing puck rebound saves,” Montgomery defined. “He made a pair point-blank saves early, after which I believed we received to our recreation. So, it was actually vital he made these saves.”
Selecting to stay with Swayman’s sizzling hand or return to Ullmark would be the Bruins’ subsequent important choice. Ullmark was strong within the common season with a 22-10-7 file and .915 SV%. Montgomery rode Ullmark for many of the Bruins’ first-round sequence in opposition to the Florida Panthers final yr, leaving Swayman out till Sport 7 behind a prolonged 17-day layoff between begins. The Bruins — who received final season’s Presidents’ Trophy because the league’s prime points-getters — fell that night time to the Panthers and have been eradicated from the postseason.
This yr Montgomery’s strict rotation means Swayman hasn’t performed two video games in two days since February. However based mostly on Swayman’s postgame response Saturday, he’ll haven’t any hassle rallying to get again within the crease.
“[It was] a dream come true,” he stated. “Taking that first lap, listening to the followers … it is a fairly emotional feeling. You simply perceive how laborious it’s to get right here and what an ideal alternative it was. I could not wipe the smile off my face the entire night time. Fairly spectacular.”