The Bruins will face their first win-or-go-home scenario of the 2022-23 NHL season Sunday when they play Game 7 against the Panthers at TD Garden.
Boston and Florida played a thrilling Game 6 at FLA Live Arena, but the Black and Gold failed to hold a lead in the third period and face elimination in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Head coach Jim Montgomery has been open about a goalie rotation in the postseason, but Linus Ullmark has been the man between the pipes throughout the series. Jeremy Swayman played the final minutes of Game 4 after Ullmark and Matthew Tkachuk almost fought.
The Bruins have other potential changes to make, like on the blue line, but Ullmark has not played up to the standard he set in the regular season that has made the eighth-year goaltender the favorite to win the Vezina Trophy.
Legendary New York Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist also considered the idea of starting Swayman in Game 7. However, there is concern about making that kind of significant change at this point in the series — Swayman’s last start was in the regular-season finale against the Montreal Canadiens on April 13.
“It’s not a clear-cut decision here, obviously,” Lundqvist said on the TNT postgame show, per Bleacher Report. “I just feel like the way the series has been played and been going for Ullmark, I just feel like you want to change the trend for this last game. And it’s not like Swayman isn’t a great option, as well, the way he’s been playing. You just have to sit down and watch practice and try to figure it out.”
Swayman has a 2.27 goals against average and a .920 save percentage on the season, and the third-year goalie has earned a career-high 24 wins. A fresh face in net could be what the Bruins need, but the Black and Gold also need to clean up their turnover issues, especially in their own zone. Montgomery will lean on goaltending coach Bob Essensa to help him make the best decision for the team.
Puck drop for Game 7 at TD Garden is scheduled at 6:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, and you can catch all the action on NESN, including an hour of pregame coverage.
