Ty Anderson: Stop complaining about David Pastrnak
Ty Anderson of 985thesportshub.com joined Zolak & Bertrand ahead of the Bruins first round playoff matchup with the Toronto Maple Leafs. One key for the Bruins will be the production of top goal scorer David Pastrnak. However, Ty has noticed a lot of hate for the All-Star winger, and wants to set the record straight:
“This is what happens when you have a superstar talent”
“So there’s a there’s been this talk of David Pastrnak all year long about how he doesn’t show up in big games or he doesn’t give you enough, which again, I don’t see how that’s the case. A frequent complaint about David Pasternack is the turnovers. And I will say that we finally saw a bad turnover on Tuesday night. I do not think that they are as back breaking or as truly crushing as the general public seems to believe when they talk about David Pastrnak. Pastrnak is number one among all NHL forwards 3.6 giveaways per 60 minutes. So he gives the puck away. Now I want to I’m going to name the players that are right below him. And you tell me, would you take this player on your team or not? Matthew Barzal, would you take him? Leon Draisaitl. Nikita Kucherov. Connor McDavid. Yeah. Filip Forsberg. Brad Marchand. Jonathan Huberdeau. So if you go through this list right basically the top 20 they’re all superstars. These are all players who have the puck on their stick a lot and are asked to make plays. Now, yes, sometimes they’re ill advised plays. However, this is what happens when you have a superstar talent. They can do stuff that nobody else can do. But the commonality here is that all these guys are MVP candidates for the most part.”
LISTEN: Ty Anderson previews Bruins-Maple Leafs with Zolak & Bertrand
Don Sweeney touches on the Bruins' plans in net for the playoffs
Dec 2, 2023; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly (44) brings the puck in front of Boston Bruins goalie Linus Ullmark (35) in the third period at Scotiabank Arena. (Dan Hamilton/USA TODAY Sports)
If this is about riding the hot hand, or the goaltender who’s been better since the trade deadline, you’d have to think that the Ullmark would be the leader in the clubhouse for the role of Game 1 starter.
Going back to the Bruins’ strict commitment to the rotation going back to Feb. 21, Ullmark’s .919 save percentage over that span ranks 10th-best among a group of 53 NHL goaltenders with at least 10 appearances. Swayman and his .902 save percentage over that same span, meanwhile, ranks 30th out of 53.
And though Ullmark’s regular season may have ended with a bit of a stinker, as he allowed two goals on just 19 shots in a loss to Ottawa this past Tuesday, there’s no denying the impact Ullmark made during what was no doubt the B’s best stretch of the season, with two wins and a .956 save percentage over a three-start stretch that featured head-to-heads with the Lightning, Predators, and then the Panthers.
Nov 2, 2023; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins left wing Brad Marchand (63) celebrates with goaltender Jeremy Swayman (1) after an overtime win against the Toronto Maple Leafs at the TD Garden. (Brian Fluharty/USA TODAY Sports)
But if this is about the matchup, it just so happens that Swayman’s rather up-and-down season — when he was up, he was absolutely electric and when he was down it was sometimes a bit of a rough watch — featured some downright phenomenal outings against the Maple Leafs.
In three showdowns with the Leafs this season, the 25-year-old Swayman posted a 3-0-0 record, and turned aside 93 of the 97 shots he faced, good for a .959 save percentage. One could also make the case that Swayman’s best appearances post-All Star break have come against Toronto, with a 32-of-33 performance against Toronto on Mar. 4 and a 28-of-29 outing against the club just three nights later.
Swayman has made a late-season push in the Boston goal, too, with a 2-2-0 record and two goals or fewer surrendered in three of those four outings. That four-game sample has also come with a .919 save percentage for No. 1.
Oct 24, 2023; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Boston Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman (1) and goaltender Linus Ullmark (35) celebrate their win against the Chicago Blackhawks at United Center. (David Banks/USA TODAY Sports)
As for how the Bruins will manage things, it feels like a rotation is the way to go. As noted, the Bruins have not given either goaltender consecutive starts since Swayman got the Feb. 19 game against Dallas and Feb. 21 start in Edmonton. The Bruins have also been mindful of how effective that one-two punch has been in goal for them, particularly when they’ve kept it as a one-two punch in that order and not melted their own brains by overthinking it.
And not for nothing, but Jim Montgomery seemed to verbally commit to a playoff rotation earlier this season. He walked that commitment back a bit in the days and weeks that followed, but the idea flowed enough for Montgomery to share what it would potentially look like, with Montgomery noting that he would likely give each goaltender two starts in the first four games of a playoff series before deciding his next move should the rotation indeed be their plan.
But, again, secrecy (and flexibility) remains the name of the game with Game 1 just two sleeps away.
“We’re very comfortable with both goaltenders,” Sweeney reiterated. “They know the plan as to what we’re going to do, and our team is very comfortable with both goaltenders. So, performance and results may change what our approach looks like, but we know what the plan is going into the playoffs.”
