How Should Bruins Use Goalies In Second Round Vs. Panthers?
Everyone wants to know what the Bruins are going to do with their goaltending situation entering their Stanley Cup playoffs second-round series with the Panthers.
In a perfect world for the Bruins, the answer wouldn’t matter, which is kind of the point.
The Bruins haven’t explicitly stated their plans for how they deploy their goalies in the playoffs. Boston coach Jim Montgomery alluded to and hinted at the possibility of sticking with the rotation of Jeremy Swayman and Linus Ullmark in the playoffs. That lasted all of two games, though, as Swayman took over the net for Game 3 and didn’t relinquish the leading role through the seven-game win over the Maple Leafs.
Despite what Montgomery said in the run-up to the postseason, it’s easy to see why the Bruins rode Swayman. The 25-year-old won four of his six starts, posting a ridiculous .950 save percentage, turning away 172 of the 181 shots with which Toronto peppered him.
Before making the trip to Florida for Monday night’s Game 1 with the Panthers, Bruins general manager Don Sweeney added a little more context to the decision-making process.
“(Goaltending has) been a strength of our team. Jeremy got momentum on his side in this series and ran with it,” Sweeney told reporters before flying to Florida. “We spoke about it and had a plan in place. Performance and results were going to dictate how we were going to dictate sometimes how we react accordingly, and we’ll continue to do that.”
Reading between the lines, it does seem as if the Bruins were going to rotate goalies, unless one of them either got red hot or struggled mightily. The former was the case with Swayman, of course, so they went back to that well. Now, with a fresh start, it’s worth wondering whether the Bruins would reset that rotation, as early as Monday night.
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Ullmark didn’t play bad in his one start against Toronto, allowing three goals on 34 shots. The Bruins also are likely considering Ullmark’s performance against the Panthers this season where he was simply dynamite. Ullmark won all three of his starts against the Atlantic Division champions, posting a superb .947 save percentage, allowing only five goals across those three starts. That save percentage was easily his highest for any team against which he had two starts. The Bruins also won both of his regular-season starts against the Cats a year ago, although he did struggle in the playoffs, when he clearly was unhealthy and playing through an injury.
The injury situation last spring is why it probably made it easier to even consider something resembling a rotation this year. The Bruins probably should have made the move to Swayman sooner, but such hesitance is unlikely to be a factor this year. Boston also might be tempted to give Swayman an extended breather of his own. The Toronto series was just the second time in his career he made five consecutive starts, and it’s certainly the first time he’s had to endure the physical and mental grind of the playoffs to that extent.
Getting Swayman some rest, knowing how good Ullmark has been against the Panthers, makes a lot of sense.
“We’ll put both players in the best situation we possibly can to help our team win and move forward each and every game,” Sweeney added. “(We’ll) monitor where Jeremy is (Sunday) coming off an amazing high, but we’re confident in both goaltenders, and that’s a benefit to us.”
If the Bruins ultimately decide to tap Swayman once again, it’s hard to argue with hitching your wagon to the NHL’s hottest goalie.
Either way, the Bruins should have confidence in whoever leads them out Monday night, which is kind of the whole point.
How do you think the Bruins should use their goalies vs. Florida? Sound off in the comments below.