Boston Bruins’ Goalie Rotation Backfires in Game 2 - Sport News

Boston Bruins’ Goalie Rotation Backfires in Game 2

Afew minutes before Game 2 of the first-round series between the Boston Bruins and the Toronto Maple Leafs, Linus Ullmark took the ice to warm up ahead of puck drop at TD Garden. The goalie got the start over teammate Jeremy Swayman, keeping the Bruins’ rotation intact — but their series not so much.

Bruins' Linus Ullmark was reportedly playing through 'debilitating' injury

After losing 3-2 on April 22 to even the series, Boston enters Game 3 with more questions than ever before about what to do next on goal.

Boston took the lead, gave it up, retook it, and then allowed Toronto to score two unanswered goals, including the game-winner by Austin Matthews.

“There’s a reason he scored 69,” Ullmark told reporters after the game, per Amelie Benjamin of NHL.com. “Try to get him next time.”

The story of the game, outside of William Nylander’s mysterious absence, was Ullmark getting the start on goal for the Bruins after Swayman stopped 35 of 36 shots in Game 1 to help the Bruins earn a 5-1 win.

With that victory, Swayman kept his 4-0-0 record against Toronto this season intact, but that wasn’t enough to persuade Boston’s head coach Jim Montgomery to ditch his season-long goalie rotation.

Boston Bruins’ Alternating Goalies Strategy Doesn’t Pay Off

Jim Montgomery, likely NHL Coach of the Year, still wracked with questions about where his Bruins went wrong - The Boston Globe

Moving on from Swayman after he had a masterful outing in Game 1 wasn’t that surprising. Not considering how the Bruins have operated for the past two years when they have been using a rotation of netminders in the last two regular seasons.

The last time Ullmark started a postseason contest, in Game 6 of the 2023 first-round series against the Florida Panthers, he surrendered 6 goals forcing Montgomery to go with Swayman in Game 7 in a too-little-too-late type of move.

Ullmark couldn’t have done much more on Monday. The goalie, starting for the first time in the playoffs this season, stopped 30 shots while allowing 3 goals to the Leafs on the other three he saw.

“I’m very grateful every time I get the opportunity to go out there and play,” Ullmark told reporters after the game, via NESN’s Greg Dudek. “It’s the most fun time in the year. So I don’t take anything for granted.

“I don’t see that anyone should have more starts than the other. It’s all about compete and performance. Also, it’s all about wins.”

That final word is what should worry the Bruins the most after they dropped Game 2, one they played home and the last one at TD Garden until both teams return to Boston for a Game 5 showdown.

‘No Second Guesses’ About Starting Ullmark Overs Swayman

Can the Linus Ullmark-Jeremy Swayman rotation work in the playoffs?

Speaking to reporters after the game, Bruins head coach sounded pleased with Ullmark’s overall performance and didn’t question his decision to start him instead of keeping Swayman in net following the Game 1 win.

“No second guesses,” Montgomery told reporters. “He was terrific. He made multiple big-time saves. It’s the strength of our team. Both of them played really well.

“We only scored two goals.”

Bruins’ Offense Must Level Up So It Doesn’t Matter Who Starts on Net

Boston Bruins set to name Jim Montgomery as new head coach

The Game 2 loss cannot be blamed on the goalie decision, but rather on an inoperant Bruins offense that failed to put the puck inside Toronto’s net as easily as they did in Game 1.

Third-line center Morgan Geekie scored Boston’s opening goal less than 10 minutes into the first period. David Pastrnak scored the second with eight seconds to go in the first frame following a faceoff battle won by the same Geekie. After that, the Bruins went radio silent and the scoreboard only moved in Toronto’s box.

The Bruins have serious firepower in their offense but scoring 2 goals while only attempting 29 shots isn’t going to cut it for them against another strong team in Toronto, even though Boston had already proved capable of puncturing Ilya Samsonov‘s net five times just two days before.

“We didn’t think about (the Game 1 loss),” Samsonov (who stopped 27 shots in Game 2) told reporters after the game according to Joshua Kloke of The Athletic. “We just needed to play our game. That’s what we talked about with the coaches.

“We just moved forward and stayed moment by moment.”

The series moves to Toronto for Game 3 and Game 4 scheduled to take place on Thursday, April 25, and Saturday, April 26. Both teams will have to play at least one more game in Boston on April 30.

Related Posts

The Changing Dynamics of the Toronto Maple Leafs Forwards

The Toronto Maple Leafs have evolved significantly since winning the Draft Lottery in 2016 and selecting Auston Matthews as the first overall pick. Starting the 2016-17 season, the team built its…

2024 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 53

Paul Goldschmidt has been destroying the hopes and dreams of opposing teams since 2012 when he played his first full season in the big leagues. He has…

Colts eager to see new offense come together – ESPN

INDIANAPOLIS — On a first-and-10 from the Colts’ own 25-yard line, quarterback Anthony Richardson took a shotgun snap and quickly tossed the ball to running back Jonathan Taylor on a…

2 moves Sabres must make in 2024 NHL offseason

The Buffalo Sabres had high expectations heading into the 2023-24 NHL season. Buffalo missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs by just one point in 2023. They had a wealth of…

NFL analyst suggests final offseason move Indianapolis Colts should make

As the Indianapolis Colts continue into the heart of the offseason workout program, there are still chances to add more talent to the roster. Sitting with a comfortable amount of…

This Day In Sabres History – Flyers Win Cup In Buffalo

On this day 49 years ago, the Philadelphia Flyers won their second straight Stanley Cup, eliminating the Buffalo Sabres in six games with a 2-0 shutout victory at Memorial…