Jim Montgomery and the coaching staff kept to their original plans in net through the first two games of the Boston Bruins’ first-round matchup with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
By Game 4, the Bruins altered course. Given Jeremy Swayman’s impressive track record against Toronto, they had every reason to do so.
Indeed, Swayman secured his long-term future in the Boston net with a breakthrough playoff performance. But his extensive workload — including two overtime appearances — and a quick turnaround may allow Linus Ullmark an opportunity to begin the Bruins’ second-round matchup against the Florida Panthers.
Again, the Bruins have every reason to put Ullmark into his first playoff action since Game 2 of the Toronto series.
The Leafs earned a 3-2 win over the Bruins in Ullmark’s lone appearance. But the 2023 Vezina winner didn’t perform poorly by any means, looking calm and steady during his 31-save performance.
Like the latter half of their series with Toronto, the Bruins didn’t provide much offensive support for Ullmark in Game 2. The Swede took the loss after an ill-timed breakdown past the midway mark of the third period led to Auston Matthews capping off his three-point night with his breakaway game-winner.
Ullmark didn’t receive his luck against Toronto. But after withering through fatigue last season in the first-round matchup with Florida, he earned his stripes after posting a stingy .947 save percentage and a 3-0 record over the Panthers during the regular season.
Not only does Ullmark have the track record, but he’ll also benefit from facing a rusty Panthers team in Game 1. And while a potential series opener would mark two weeks between starts, he wouldn’t face anywhere the same pressure that Swayman encountered entering Game 7 a year ago.
Regardless, the Bruins remain confident in their tandem. And they’ll need that as they enter this year’s series against a deep Panthers team as prohibitive underdogs despite sweeping them in the regular season.
“It’s been a strength of our team,” general manager Don Sweeney told reporters before the Bruins departed for Sunrise on Sunday. “Jeremy got momentum on his side in the series and ran with it. We’ve spoken about that. We had a plan in place. Performance and results were going to dictate sometimes how we were going to react accordingly. We’ll continue to do that.
“We’ll put both players in the best situation we possibly can to help our team win and move forward each and every game. Monitor where Jeremy is this morning coming off an amazing high. We’re confident in both goaltenders, and that’s a benefit to us.”
Swayman and Ullmark knew about the potential plans ahead of time. They both remain competitive, wanting to take over the crease at any given moment. But their close friendship allows them to check their egos at the door and play a supporting role as backup.
Case in point: Ullmark’s comments from last week, in which he admitted to not being a “sulky little crybaby” after backing up Swayman in Toronto.
“There’s a reason I’m here today, and it’s not to be a sulky little crybaby about not playing or anything like that,” Ullmark said. “I try to stay professional. I’m supporting the guys throughout the period here. [I] go out there in practice and be better and try to push people in a way that I can, obviously, and try to bring that energy and try to do whatever I can when I’m off to the side as much as I try to do when I’m in the net.”
At any given moment, the Bruins could turn back to Ullmark, perhaps as early as Monday. But it shouldn’t take them long to ride Swayman’s hot hand again either before reassessing their plans upon returning to Boston for Games 3 and 4.
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