The Boston Bruins were dealt a gut-wrenching blow to end their record-setting run, falling short in Game 7 to the Florida Panthers on Sunday night.
However, before the Bruins took the ice for a do-or-die matchup with the Panthers, Boston needed to make a crucial decision. Start Linus Ullmark or Jeremy Swayman in between the pipes?
Well, with the season on the line, ahead of puck drop, the decision was made, and the B’s ran with Swayman, electing to replace Ullmark, who had already started in the first six contests of the series.
After Boston’s crushing 4-3 overtime loss, head coach Jim Montgomery addressed the thought process behind giving Swayman the nod.
“We just thought he was gonna give us the best chance tonight,” Montgomery told reporters. “You’d have to ask Goalie Bob (Essensa) a little more in detail about that. We all thought that he was gonna give us the best opportunity tonight.”
With five games of postseason experience under his belt, Swayman was put in a tough spot. Having not played beyond a brief 3-minute appearance in Game 4, the 24-year-old was tasked with keeping the season alive, making his first playoff start of the year in a Game 7 situation.
Swayman made 27 saves, allowing four goals, including a game-tying score with 59.2 seconds left in regulation and the series-ender 8:25 into overtime. It was Swayman’s first start since taking the ice on April 13 against the Montreal Canadiens for Boston’s regular season finale, which gave him an over two-week long hiatus.
Meanwhile, the Bruins swung and miss on three straight occasions after taking a commanding 3-1 series lead over the Panthers, as Flordia punches its ticket to the semifinals against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
