Bruins set goaltending plans for weekend back-to-back
After an unheard of full Monday through Friday off, the Boston Bruins will return to action for a weekend back-to-back, and with their plans in net set ahead of Saturday’s road contest in Philadelphia.
And that plan will begin with Linus Ullmark in net for Saturday’s road showdown against the Flyers.
“Last time [Jeremy Swayman] had Philadelphia, we didn’t win, so there’s a little bit of, ‘OK let’s try the other guy,'” Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy said following Friday’s practice. “They were both gonna play a game [this weekend]. It’s all discussed with [goalie coach Bob Essensa]. We do want to get Ullmark in there as quickly as possible.
“It is a fresh week, [we’ll] give him an opportunity.”
Ullmark has not played since Nov. 11, when he surrendered five goals on 28 shots in a 5-3 loss to the Oilers. The numbers made it seem worse than Ullmark’s actual play throughout the night, as he more than did his job with a number of strong saves in the opening 40 minutes before a brutal turnover from Brandon Carlo and a miscommunication between Carlo and Matt Grzelcyk left Leon Draisaitl (pretty good player) all alone for two scoring chances he did not miss.
Overall, the 6-foot-4 Ullmark has posted a 3-3-0 record and .903 save percentage through his first six games in a Boston uniform, but hasn’t appeared to find his rhtymn between the natural platoon in net and a downright goofy schedule.
“I think Sway has kind of found his game now and his rhythm, so let’s see if we can do the same for Linus,” said Cassidy.
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Ty Anderson is a writer and columnist for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Yell at him on Twitter: @_TyAnderson.
