Bruins coach Jim Montgomery finds new way to not reveal goalie
The game within the games will only continue for Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery.
After what was three straight days of secrecy regarding the Bruins’ plans in net only for it to be Jeremy Swayman who led the Bruins out to the ice and posted a 35-of-36 line in a Game 1 win, Montgomery found a new way to say nothing when it came to his team’s plans in goal for Monday’s Game 2 at TD Garden.
“It’s funny you ask… I don’t like keeping you guys in the dark,” Montgomery said following his team’s morning skate. “Do any of you play Wordle? OK, the starting goalie tonight has two vowels in his first and last name.”
The joke within the answer there is that both Jeremy Swayman and Linus Ullmark have two vowels in their first and last names.
In essence, the Bruins are going to keep it a mystery until the pregame warmup, which will get underway sometime around 6:30 p.m., and it appears that that will be the case throughout the series based on Montgomery’s follow-up answers.
“I don’t know why we would divulge information,” Montgomery said. “Like if you’re preparing for a game, there’s part of the goalie that are part of your pre-scout. So, that’s an advantage for us if you don’t know who’s starting.
“I don’t tell my wife. I’m not telling you guys.”
Which goalie should the Bruins start in Game 2?@_TyAnderson joins Felger on Sports Sunday to break it down pic.twitter.com/1uEdcWmYHL
— NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSBoston) April 22, 2024
Speaking in the immediate aftermath of Boston’s Game 1 win, Montgomery admitted that it would be tough for the club to go away from Swayman after his 35-save outing. But between the regular season and playoffs, the Bruins have alternated back and forth between Swayman and Ullmark for 27 straight games now.
But the Bruins have wisely kept all their options when it comes to their playoff plans in goal. While many have pressed about a strict rotation, the Bruins have talked about it with the constant caveat of “performance and results will dictate” a lot of this. And one could argue that Swayman’s Game 1 performance has indeed earned him his first string of consecutive starts since Feb. 19-21.
Including his Game 1 figures, Swayman is 4-0-0 against the Leafs in 2023-24, and has posted an impressive .962 save percentage over that four-game span, with saves on 128 of 133 total shots faced.
3 Stars: Bruins wing Jake DeBrusk shines in Game 1 win
Third Star: Brandon Carlo
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – APRIL 20: Brandon Carlo #25 of the Boston Bruins skates by the bench to celebrate with his teammates after scoring a goal against the Toronto Maple Leafs during the second period in Game One of the First Round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs at TD Garden on April 20, 2024 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Brian Fluharty/Getty Images)
Bruins defensive-zone stalwart Brandon Carlo will tell you himself, defense is the name of his game. Any offense that comes out of that defense is just a bonus. But there’s something about the the sight of a Maple Leafs sweater that turns the 6-foot-5 blue liner into the Black and Gold’s modern day Bobby Orr.
Brandon Carlo hammers home Jake DeBrusk's feed from behind the net.
— Conor Ryan (@ConorRyan_93) April 21, 2024
2-0 Boston. pic.twitter.com/gBoNo2iUecOn the board with Boston’s second goal of the evening in what finished as a five-goal night for Boston, Carlo’s tally through Ilya Samsonov was his second goal and fourth point in five games against the Leafs this season.
Brandon Carlo against the Leafs this year (including playoffs): Two goals and four points in five games.
— Ty Anderson (@_TyAnderson) April 21, 2024
Brandon Carlo against everybody else this year: Three goals and 11 points in 72 games.The Bruins also gave Carlo and Hampus Lindholm the Auston Matthews assignment for the majority of the evening, and though Matthews got his looks and while the Bruins got some good looks, they were able to hold Matthews and his line off the board. Which is always a plus for any team going up against the 69-goal scorer.
Second Star: Jeremy Swayman
Jan 15, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman (1) puts on his mask during the second period against the New Jersey Devils at TD Garden. (Winslow Townson/USA TODAY Sports)
The Bruins knew what they were going to do in goal for Game 1 long before Jeremy Swayman led the team out for pregame warmups at 7:36 p.m. on Saturday night. They just didn’t feel like telling any of us.
In fact, their non-answers on the subject hit a new height on Saturday morning, as Montgomery told the assembled media that the goalie who got the call in net for the Bruins in Game 1 would be wearing goalie pads.
Swayman indeed wore goalie pads, he indeed got the call in Game 1 (the first Game 1 appearance of his NHL career), and he absolutely dazzled in what was a 35-save victory in the Boston cage.
And though the Bruins gave Swayman some early support by way of Johnny Beecher’s goal on Boston’s first shot of the night, this was a game that required some big saves from Swayman early, as the Maple Leafs were able to generate some quality looks from the high-danger areas of the ice. Swayman was noticeably strong when it came to tracking the puck in this game, and came through with countless ‘good freezes’ to stall would-be momentum for Toronto.
Some of Swayman’s best work came during what was a successful 4-on-3 penalty kill for the Bruins, where the Bruins were forced to hold the Leafs at bay for a 1:50 stretch with both Charlie McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm in the box.
First Star: Jake DeBrusk
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – APRIL 20: Jake DeBrusk #74 of the Boston Bruins reacts after a goal was scored by teammate Brandon Carlo #25 (not in photo) during the second period against the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game One of the First Round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs at TD Garden on April 20, 2024. (Brian Fluharty/Getty Images)
Hitting the old ‘restart’ button is nothing new for the Bruins’ Jake DeBrusk.
He’s been white hot. And he’s been ice cold. And after what was a definite cold spell to end his regular season, DeBrusk kicked his postseason off with a white-hot bang Saturday night, with two goals and an assist in the Game 1 victory.
The three-point outing was DeBrusk’s first night of at least three points since a four-point effort against the Sabres back on Mar. 19, 2023, and it was the first three-point game of DeBrusk’s playoff career.
DeBrusk: “I didn’t like my season. Pretty disappointed. But now we’re chasing the ultimate goal. I just think it’s a matter of playing the right way. This time of year is all about staying even keeled.”
— Ty Anderson (@_TyAnderson) April 21, 2024
He was asked about his goal this postseason: “To win.”‘Playoff Jake’ seems to be back in business for the Bruins, too, with eight goals and 13 points in his last 15 playoff games dating back to 2022. His 15 points are tied for the 40th-most among all playoff forwards over that stretch.
