For much of the regular season, the Boston Bruins toggled back and forth between Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman as the team's starting netminders.
But on the eve of the Stanley Cup playoffs, Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy announced it will be Ullmark who will get the nod in between the pipes for Boston in Game 1 of its first-round matchup with the Carolina Hurricanes, according to the Boston Sports Journal's Conor Ryan.
Ullmark started in 39 games this season, posting a 26-10-2 record to go along with a 2.45 goals against average and a .917 save percentage. Ullmark, who battled a late-season injury, made three appearances over the final week of the regular season and showed well in those outings, including recording a 37-save shutout -- the first of his Bruins career -- in his last start against the Buffalo Sabres.
Ullmark's strong finish -- he went 9-1-0 in his last 12 games -- was enough to give him the nod over Swayman, who seemed to hit a little bit of a rookie wall down the stretch.
For Ullmark, the start in net against the Hurricanes will also be the first postseason appearance for the Swedish netminder in his NHL career.
The Bruins on Monday will travel to take on the Hurricanes for Game 1 of the best-of-seven series. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET, and you can catch coverage of the game on NESN.
