A major question mark all season in Boston has been IF the Bruins will use the goalie tandem in the playoffs or not.
The answer is much more clear now, based on what coach Jim Montgomery told NESN.com in an April 4 article. All indications are that Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman will continue to switch off game to game in the postseason.
“We’re just going to keep going the way it is and I’m very comfortable with the rotation, even going into the playoffs,” Montgomery said. “Very comfortable with the rotation.”
But that comment was a week ago and the conjecture in Beantown continues. Bruins beat writer Kevin Paul Dupont reported on Wednesday (April 10) that it’s still up in the air which way Montgomery will go and wondered if the coach will choose the “rock solid, symbiotic” duo or “one to be his guy for the duration” (from ‘Is Jim Montgomery Thinking Playoff Goalie Rotation? He’s Not Saying, but Bruins History Offers a Suggestion of Success’, Boston Globe, April 10, 2024).
“This is probably the most talked about thing this year, but it makes sense,” said Evan Marinofsky on the Bruins Rinkside podcast. – link to source “It makes sense because it’s a pretty big decision. The more I look at how Swayman and Ullmark have performed this year, I know for a fact I don’t want them to ride one as they have in the past two seasons.”
If he goes the tandem route, it’s a near-certainty that Montgomery will face some extremely difficult decisions. What if, for instance, the Game 1 starter makes 38 saves, including more than a handful of the spectacular variety, and pitches a shutout? Should he play in Game 2 and beyond? Or will the coach pretty much stick to the one-in and one-out system and not let outstanding performances or disappointing ones change his mind?
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Through the first half of the season, there was no doubt that Swayman was the better of the two, but things have changed quite a bit and now Ullmark has been outperforming him. A year ago, remember, Ullmark had a Vezina Trophy-winning regular season as the top goalie in the league and was the go-to guy in what turned out to be a shocking seven-game opening series loss to the Florida Panthers. Leading 3 games to 2 and ready to clinch it, the B’s went with Ullmark for a sixth straight start and he struggled in a 7-5 Game 6 defeat. Since then, Montgomery’s choice to not use both as he had in the NHL’s best regular season has been questioned at length.
In today’s NHL, goalie tandems in the playoffs are rare, so if the Bruins go down that road, it promises to be intriguing, to say the least.
“Man, is that going to be something to talk about and second guess if things don’t work out?” said radio broadcaster Rob “Hardy” Poole in a 98.5thesportshub.com article.
As early as a month ago, Montgomery was already leaning toward the tandem, “We know if you go with a platoon the whole year, switching in and switching out, you can’t expect one guy to ride the emotions of the playoffs by themselves,” he said in a March 14 NESN.com article.
By themselves? Not if these two have any say. It’s no secret that they have developed a very deep bond that is shown with a goalie hug after every win.
A Closer Look at Swayman & Ullmark’s Seasons So Far
All season, Montgomery has talked about the team’s goaltending as the strongest part of the Bruins’ game. And it’s true.
Here’s a snapshot of Boston’s two goalies in 2023-24:
Jeremy Swayman
- Stat line: 25-9-8 with a 2.56 goals-against average (GAA), .915 save percentage (SV%), and three shutouts
- Didn’t give up more than two goals in any game until his seventh start of the season on Nov. 11
- Didn’t give up more than three goals in any game until his ninth start on Nov. 20
- Slumped with four straight losses, going 0-1-3, to start February right after appearing in his first NHL All-Star Game
- A 1.26 GAA in October; a 3.40 GAA in February
- 9-6-1 since the beginning of March, including six games in which he gave up four or more goals
- Hasn’t had a shutout since Jan. 15
Linus Ullmark
- Stat line: 21-9-7 with a 2.55 GAA, .917 SV%, and two shutouts
- Hasn’t given up more than three goals in his last eight games
- Has given up three or fewer goals in 30 games
- 10-4-5 in his last 19 games, and 14-6-5 in his last 25 since Jan. 1
- A 1.77 GAA in October; a 3.44 GAA in November
- Went seven straight starts, from Feb. 13 to March 5, without winning a game
- Shut out the Vancouver Canucks, the top team in the league at the time, on Feb. 8
Another big question if the platoon system is a go: Which of the two goalies do you go with in Game 1 of the playoffs, which start April 20? The choice may depend on how the coaches see them matching up against the particular opponent, and that first-round foe likely won’t be decided until the end of the regular season on April 18.