3 reasons for optimism and concern for a potential Bruins playoff run

A year after a record-breaking regular season and a bitter first-round exit, the Boston Bruins made decent use of a transitional roster to finish second in the Atlantic Division.

As another first-round matchup with the Toronto Maple Leafs approaches, Bruins fans have their share of causes for optimism and concern for a potential deep run. Let’s take a look at three reasons for each.

Optimism: The Bruins plan on using their dynamic goaltending tandem early.

The Bruins had a chance to buck conventional wisdom last season with their dynamic duo in net. Instead, they waited too late to pivot to Jeremy Swayman after a fatigued Linus Ullmark withered through the latter half of the Florida series.

The Bruins relied heavily on Ullmark (22-10-7, 2.57 GAA, .915 SV%) and Swayman (25-10-8, 2.53 GAA, .916 SV%) during their transitional season. Now, they enter this year’s series with the high-octane Leafs knowing of Jim Montgomery’s plans ahead of time. 

Indeed, the Bruins will have their hands full against a potent Leafs attack. But that also provides a perfect reason for the coaching staff to establish their plans for Ullmark and Swayman early.

“Performance and results will dictate some of this,” Boston GM Don Sweeney said following Thursday’s practice. “But we know what the plan is going in, and so do they. And we’re comfortable with it.”

Concern: A potential dropoff or injury to Swayman or Ullmark.

With Ullmark’s performance in the home stretch and Swayman’s impressive record this year against Toronto, the Bruins should remain confident in their tandem. But a shaky outing or two from either party could significantly dent their rotational outlook.

An injury to either netminder will likely force the Bruins to ride the other half for a potential extended run. The Avalanche and Golden Knights both endured injuries to Darcy Kuemper and Laurent Brossoit during their respective Cup runs over the last two seasons. Still, they already had established options in Adin Hill and Pavel Francouz to turn to for an extended period.

Brandon Bussi showcased some promise during his first season in Providence. But without any prior NHL experience, inserting Bussi into a rotation in the event of an injury to Swayman or Ullmark remains far from ideal.

Arguably, the Bruins’ best path to a potential Cup run lies with their goaltending rotation. Any deviation — be it performance-based or injury — may derail any hopes of a lengthy postseason run.

Optimism: The penalty kill is still performing at peak level.

Boston’s roughest stretch on the kill came in February when they allowed power play, goals in four straight games. They’ve killed off 60 of 71 attempts since and allowed multiple goals just once over the last 27 games.

Between the timely saves from Ullmark and Swayman and converging to the front of the net to limit primary and secondary bids, the Bruins used their penalty kill to create momentum in 5v5. 

That’s a pivotal development heading into their first-round series against Toronto’s dynamic power play, which features a near 70-goal scorer in Auston Matthews and other potent weapons like Mitch Marner, John Tavares, Morgan Reilly and William Nylander.

Concern: The power play enters the playoffs cold.

Boston’s developments surrounding its top power-play unit are far from ideal entering the playoffs.

David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand have only netted one power-play goal each since the All-Star break. Charlie McAvoy lost his role at the point of the top unit following an unforced turnover in Pittsburgh, which led directly to Drew O’Connor’s tally. The ugly habits with the man advantage continued during the regular season finale against Ottawa, when David Pastrnak’s neutral zone blunder led directly to Artem Zub’s empty netter late in regulation.

The slow setups, sluggish puck movement and lack of urgency sent Boston’s power play into a second-half tailspin. Despite their solid output in 5v5 scoring, this year’s transitional Bruins bunch can’t afford the power play to decline further. 

But they’ll have a decent opportunity to reverse their fortunes in Round 1 against Toronto’s 23rd-ranked penalty kill. The Bruins scored three goals in their 10 power play attempts against the Leafs this season.

Optimism: The recent game management improvements.

Sweeney addressed Boston’s physical shortcomings after adding Andrew Peeke and Pat Maroon at the trade deadline. The remedy didn’t come overnight. But slowly, the Bruins finally improved with their late-game situations.

The Bruins embarked on their best stretch of the season’s second half, beginning on March 26 in Florida. During a six-game span, the Bruins used various paths to victory through productive goaltending and timely offense. The attention to detail in every area of the ice translated into more on-time starts and even better finishes against multiple teams fighting for postseason positioning.

Despite dropping three of their last four, the Bruins showcased healthier habits to prep for the playoff grind. But can they build on their recent game management improvements when every inch of ice space becomes that much more precious?

Concern: The Bruins will face a challenging path for a potential run.

Neither the Bruins nor Leafs enter this year’s series as overwhelmingly prohibitive favorites. And they’ll likely face the same scenario if they advance to a second-round matchup with the winner of the Panthers-Lightning series.

Shall the Bruins get past the Atlantic Division bracket, a matchup with the Rangers or Hurricanes in the Conference Final could await. Both teams possess aggressive forechecking and defensive structures that provided the Bruins with fits during their respective regular-season meetings.

The first 82 provided a sample size. The real stakes begin Saturday and will only heighten with each pressing game.

“You know when you started the season that’s what you want. You want an opportunity to play for a Cup,” Marchand said. “Toronto is gonna be an extremely tough matchup…obviously a ton of firepower and they added some toughness at the deadline, playing a much harder tougher brand hockey. So it’s gonna be a great matchup should be fun and we’re excited to get going.”