How Bruins Are Keeping Linus Ullmark Sharp During Jeremy Swayman Run
One of the Bruins’ strengths all season has been the outstanding goaltending from their tandem of Jeremy Swayman and Linus Ullmark.
At the beginning of the Stanley Cup playoffs, Boston head coach Jim Montgomery kept the rotation that earned the Bruins the second seed in the Atlantic Division but Swayman’s exceptional play more or less forced the second-year coach to ride the hot goalie.
In seven starts, Swayman has posted a .955 save percentage and a 1.42 goals-against average by stopping 210 of 220 shots he’s faced, which is top of the league in the postseason. He has allowed two or fewer goals in each of his starts, which is tied for second-best in NHL history behind Clint Benedict, Jacques Plante, and Terry Sawchuck.
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It’s hard to take the net away from Swayman when he’s playing as spectacularly as he is. But this is the first time the 25-year-old has gotten this many consecutive starts while donning the Spoked-B, so the Bruins have to keep Ullmark ready in case he has to step in for his goalie partner.
“We have the sports science department that gives us feedback on where people are at, Montgomery told reporters on Tuesday. “Keeping Linus sharp with the amount of practice and the shooting they’re getting, specifically on days like today when the whole team isn’t practicing, keeps him sharp. I think the emotion of the Stanley Cup playoffs keeps him sharp.
And then we’re weighing where Sway is. Sway is a tremendous athlete — a little bit of a freak of an athlete — so we don’t worry too much about him breaking down, but we also weigh the emotion of the playoffs.”
Regardless of which goalie is in net for Boston, their support for one another has been evident, not just in the postseason, but through the course of the past two regular seasons as well.
The Panthers will look to solve Swayman in Game 2 on Wednesday night, but if they do, Ullmark will be waiting to take the net.
The 30-year-old went 3-0-0 in three games against Florida in the regular season, posting a 1.62 goals-against average and a .947 save percentage.