Bruins general manager Don Sweeney has a plan when it comes to what his team is going to do in goal for the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs. But it’s a plan that he doesn’t feel like sharing at this point in time, he admits.
“That’s not my job,” a smiling Sweeney said Thursday when asked to share with the assembled how the Bruins will begin their 2024 postseason run in goal.
Running with a steady rotation of going from Jeremy Swayman to Linus Ullmark and then back again since Feb. 21, the Bruins clearly seem to like where things stand with each netminder, and the fact that they’ve kept at it with that pure every-other rotation for almost two full months without any sort of deviation seems telling.
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.”
