Bruins

Why the Bruins should halt goalie rotation, roll with Jeremy Swayman in Game 4

"It makes me think that maybe he's in their head a little bit."

By Conor Ryan

April 26, 2024

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COMMENTARY 

The stats speak for themselves when it comes to Jeremy Swayman and his dominance against the Maple Leafs this season.

Following Boston’s 4-2 win in Game 3 on Wednesday, Swayman is now 5-0-0 against Toronto in 2023-24 — sporting a .957 save percentage over that stretch. 

The Maple Leafs boast one of the most feared offenses in the league — ranking second during the regular season with 3.63 goals scored per contest. But with Swayman between the pipes, several Grade-A scoring chances at the netfront and low slot have fizzled out via a timely pad save and glove snag. 

For Jim Montgomery, the most telling sign that the Maple Leafs might be gripping their sticks a little tighter with No. 1 in net might have come during a TV timeout on Wednesday. 

Be it his natural inclination to stir the pot or get Swayman off his game, Leafs forward Max Domi bumped into Swayman as he exited the net — with the Bruins’ goalie falling to the frozen sheet.

Ultimately, it didn’t sway Boston’s netminder. But it might have been a stark indictment on a Maple Leafs team that has yet to land a haymaker against Swayman all season long. 

“When Domi goes off the bench and bumps him on purpose — it makes me think that maybe he’s in their head a little bit,” Montgomery noted on Thursday.

The mental tool that comes during the Stanley Cup Playoffs is an underrated factor that weighs on every player this time of year. The bumps and bruises that accumulate over a long postseason run sap even the strongest skaters, but there’s something to be said of the morale-sapping advantage a team wields when their goalie has a team’s number.

So far, Swayman has been that game-breaker for the Bruins against Toronto. And for that reason alone, the Bruins should break from their tried-and-true goalie rotation in Game 4 and keep rolling with Swayman. 

“We’re gonna have more rest, but both goalies, like, the rotation has been so good for us,” Montgomery said. “So it’s a hard decision.”

Montgomery and the Bruins would be justified in keeping said rotation intact, no doubt. 

Linus Ullmark — the reigning Vezina Trophy winner — was far from the reason Boston dropped Game 2 on Monday night. The case can be made that the 3-2 final would have been even more lopsided in the Leafs’ favor had it not been for a few Grade-A stops from Ullmark.

The Bruins have now alternated goalies for the past 28 games. Even though Swayman has been on a roll during the postseason, Ullmark was also playing at a high level down the stretch — winning six of his last nine regular-season contests while sporting a .935 save percentage. 

But in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Bruins should be able to add a bit more flexibility to their rigid goalie rotation when the situation calls for it.

Because right now, Swayman is arguably playing the best hockey of his career — which seems to be a recurring trend whenever he’s matched up against Boston’s Original Six foe in Toronto. 

“Ultra competitive,” Montgomery said of Swayman. “Like, if anyone’s as close to [Brad Marchand] on our team as competitive fire, it’s him.” 

Swayman hasn’t just been locked in during his first two games of the postseason, he’s been the best netminder in the Stanley Cup Playoffs — and it hasn’t been particularly close. 

According to MoneyPuck, Swayman has already saved 7.8 goals above expected in two games againdt Toronto — a byproduct of the several netfront opportunities and slot shots that he’s turned aside in Games 1 and 3. 

Vegas goalie Logan Thompson ranks second in that same category among postseason goalies — with just 2.4 goals saved above expected. 

“Anytime I get a chance to play I’m going to do whatever I can to help this team win,” Swayman said Wednesday after Boston’s Game 3 win. “Whether it’s back-to-back or every other game, I’m just really grateful for every time I do get a chance and that’s all I’m worried about.”

One of the perks of Boston’s goalie rotation has been the proper allocation of reps between Ullmark and Swayman — with both netminders rarely taxed throughout 82 games. The Bruins learned the hard way last postseason that exerting Ullmark via six straight starts pushed an already banged-up goalie past his limits.

But Boston’s schedule does benefit the team if it opts to stick with Swayman in Game 4, considering that the Bruins have two off days in Toronto before resuming play on Saturday night. 

The last time Swayman had two off days between consecutive starts, he followed up a 31-save shutout performance against New Jersey on Jan. 15 with a 30-save game in a 5-2 win over the Avalanche on Jan. 18.

“I don’t want rest,” Swayman said after Game 3. “I just want to keep playing. No matter when I get the call, whether it’s back-to-back or every other game, I want to make sure my body is ready and I’m ready to perform at my best.”

A slight alteration to Boston’s goalie rotation doesn’t mean that Ullmark is suddenly going to be mired on the bench for the remainder of this playoff run.

If the Bruins punch their ticket to the next round, they could always resume the rotation against a team like the Panthers — giving both Swayman and Ullmark an opportunity to stake their claim in net against a familiar opponent.

But that’s a question for another day.

In the Stanley Cup Playoffs, it’s all about “survive and advance”. 

And in this series — against this particular team — Swayman gives Boston its best chance to move on.