Bruins goalie Linus Ullmark isn’t here to be a ‘crybaby’

It goes without saying that Bruins goaltender Linus Ullmark would prefer to be playing.

Ullmark has made no bones about the playoffs being 'the most fun time of the year' and his desire to break through as a playoff goalie for the Bruins. But in the first round, Ullmark has played spectator in three of the first four games of Boston's first-round series with the Maple Leafs, and understandably so. Not only have the Bruins won all three of creasemate Jeremy Swayman's starts, but Swayman has been downright ridiculous, with a playoffs-best .957 save percentage.

But that's nothing for Ullmark to sulk about.

"You know, there's a reason why I'm here today, and it's not being a sulky little crybaby about not playing or anything like that," Ullmark said following Monday's practice at Warrior Ice Arena. "I just try to stay professional, supporting the guys throughout the period here. And I'll go out there every practice trying to be better, try to push people in a way that I can obviously, and try to bring that energy and do whatever I can when I'm off to the side as much as I try to do when I'm in the net."

The plan for the Bruins out of the gate, seemingly guarded with 10 sets of alarms and proteced by magic symbols that required a decoder you can only find in wreckage at the bottom of the ocean, was to give both Swayman and Ullmark one start each through the first two games of the series, and then ride the hot hand. And though both delivered — Swayman stopped 35-of-36 in a Game 1 win while Ullmark made 31 saves in a losing effort in Game 2 — it became clear that this was emerging as a Swayman matchup. Especially when you looked at the way that Swayman had dominated the Leafs during the regular season series head-to-head.

"Sway's been playing tremendously," Ullmark acknowledged. "I have a lot of faith in that fella. I'm very happy for him, obviously. And that's what I try and do as well: I stay positive and supportive of him, because if I don't support my guy, I'm not supporting the team. And if I'm not supporting the team, not supporting him. So it kind of goes hand in hand in that sort of situation."

What the Bruins plan on doing in goal for Game 5 remains up in the air, but the odds currently suggest that it's looking like another Swayman game for the Bruins. Not only has this matchup benefitted him greatly, but the Bruins and Maple Leafs are returning to action with yet another extra day of rest between games, putting Swayman back in position for a two stars in four days stretch.

But with nothing certain — and with Ullmark outright admitting that he doesn't believe that there's a set 'plan' with either himself or Swayman — all Ullmark can do is remain ready.

"I can't take days off," Ullmark said. "You never know what'll happen. You always hope for the best, [but] expect the worst kind of thing. That's the thing that you always have to be vigilant and stay positive throughout the series. And for me, it's staying in the moment. Don't think about what happens [or] what's going to happen or anything like that. You know, right now I'm talking to you guys. That's what I'm trying to focus on. Obviously sometimes it's a little bit harder than other days, but today is a good day."

While the Maple Leafs are going through a health crisis as it relates to the status of superstar scorer Auston Matthews, the Bruins appear set to potentially welcome two players back to their active roster.

In fact, it may be a matter of timing more than anything else at this point, as Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery made his boldest claim yet with winger Justin Brazeau and defenseman Derek Forbort ahead of Tuesday's Game 5 at TD Garden.

"Forbort and Brazeau are options," Montgomery said following Monday's practice at Brighton's Warrior Ice Arena. "We'll see [Tuesday] night if they're in the lineup or not. There's steps left to be made, but they're close."

It's worth noting that Brazeau skated on what you would consider 'normal' line from a game standpoint, with the 6-foot-5 Brazeau to the right of Pat Maroon and Jesper Boqvist on what would seemingly be Boston's fourth line. At the same time, however, Brazeau's move back to the right side of Boston's fourth line was certainly aided by the fact that the Bruins gave both Danton Heinen and Brad Marchand maintenance days off the ice.

Forbort, meanwhile, practiced to the left of Parker Wotherspoon on Boston's third pairing.

In the case of Brazeau, it's been almost a full month since the big-bodied wing was last seen in game action thanks to an upper-body injury sustained on a hit from the Preds' Luke Schenn in an Apr. 2 game down in Nashville.

That absence has led to 10 straight missed games for the 26-year-old if you include the final six games of the regular season and the first four games of Boston's first-round series with the Maple Leafs.

And it would also appear that Brazeau is slightly ahead of schedule, as the Bruins had initially pegged him as a possibility for the second round before upgrading him to day-to-day, 'almost there' status on Monday.

"Obviously, it's been a couple of weeks and I've only played regular-season games but [the physicality] is something I'm excited about and something in my game," Brazeau said of a potential (or perhaps inevitable) jump into postseason play. "I enjoy getting into the hard areas so I'm excited for that. It's something I've always done in my game. Something I don't really have to change or anything, so it's just kind of going out there and doing what I do."

A late-season surprise (and a half), Brazeau tallied five goals and seven points through 19 NHL appearances with the Bruins. In addition to his offensive production, Brazeau had also racked up 43 hits and 12 blocked shots, and had received frequent in-game promotions up the Boston depth chart prior to his injury.

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Forbort, meanwhile, is still looking to work his way back into what would be his first NHL game since Mar. 2 on Long Island.

Forbort has remained active of late, too, getting into action for late-season 'conditioning' games down in Providence, and was recently upgraded to 'day-to-day' status ahead of the team's flight to Toronto last week.

But after undergoing two separate surgeries back in March, the Bruins have been understandably reluctant to simply throw Forbort out there, especially in high-stakes playoff contests. They seemingly teased at it during the pregame warmups in Game 4, with Forbort among the other defensemen taking warmups, but it did not play out to an 11-forward, 7-defenseman look from the Bruins in that game, nor did it ever truly seem close to happening.

And still, the Bruins have their reservations when it comes to putting Forbort out there right now.

"As long as that word is, there's as much trepidation as there is, yes," Montgomery said of putting Forbort in for Game 5.

In addition to the overall uncertainty that's come with Forbort's game in 2023-24, there's also the possibility that the Bruins don't want to change up too much from what they're doing right now. Games 3 and 4 in Toronto featured some undeniably strong defensive play from the club (Game 4 was absolutely their best effort on that front), and the Black and Gold's defense has delivered in terms of game-to-game improvement.

"I think our sticks have been significantly better, especially in the D-zone," Montgomery, whose team has a chance to knock out the Maple Leafs in Game 5, said of his team's recent defensive improvements. "I think our time and space has been better up ice, and I think our neutral zone forecheck has gotten better."

Should Forbort draw in, it would appear that veteran Kevin Shattenkirk would be the odd man out, as he skated with Matt Grzelcyk (scratched for the last two games) for Monday's practice.

When it comes to the Bruins' other injured bodies, both center Matt Poitras and defenseman Andrew Peeke were on the ice ahead of Monday's practice at Warrior, and got some work in.

Poitras underwent shoulder surgery back in February, and should not be considered an option for the playoffs given the expected recovery timeline of five months. But the Bruins did make it a point to have Poitras stay in Boston throughout his recovery to not only be under the care of their doctors, but to also be around the team for the remainder of the season. The Bruins viewed both things as equally important to the continued development of the 20-year-old center.

Peeke, on the other hand, is still an option for the Bruins should they advance out of the first round of play. At least that's what we're all led to believe, as the latest word on the right-shooting defenseman is that he's simply 'week-to-week' after taking a Tyler Bertuzzi shot off the hand in Boston's Game 2 loss.

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