Beetle: Bruins could avoid naming a starting goalie all season

On Thursday’s edition of Zolak & Bertrand, Beetle explained why he thinks the Bruins might not name a starting goalie all season.

• Just flip back and forth until the playoffs?

  Beetle: I don’t know that they’re going to name a number one starting goalie. I think they’re going to bounce back and forth between the two guys. I don’t agree with it.

  Hardy: For how long, though?

  Beetle: They could do it all year.

  Zo: Can they? Do good teams do that? Like contending teams? Not really right.

  Beetle: Typically in recent times, no. Once upon a time, that was a thing. Like the Bruins of the ’70s would split time.

  Zo: The Blues won with a couple of goalies with (Jordan) Binnington there.

  Hardy: You generally start with a guy who you think is going to be the guy, and maybe based on the way Swayman’s camp went, they think if you’re if you’re forcing us to name a guy, then Ullmark’s going to be the guy. I don’t see it playing out that way over the course of say, the first month. I’d be surprised if we look at the first 15 games, so you know, go out as long as that’ll take six weeks, whatever.

  T-Bone: I know we had those four games last year with Tuukka (Rask), but take those out and they split them 39-39. Right down the middle. I see something like that happening again. What’s it going to take at this point for for a goalie to differentiate themselves, to pull away?

  Zo: Pitch a couple of shutouts.

  Beetle: Play well. Play clearly better than the other guy.

  T-Bone: Do you think they both didn’t play well last year?

  Beetle: No, but I think Swayman has a higher ceiling.

  Zo: Right. And he’s supposed to only get better with time, right? Because of the age.

• Listen to the full conversation

• Jim Montgomery's goalie schedule to start the season

  Jim Montgomery says Bruins will probably rotate Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman in first four games.

  — Stephen Whyno (@SWhyno) October 12, 2022