Bruins ‘Comfortable’ Rolling With Goalie Rotation In Playoffs

BOSTON — The Bruins have utilized a goalie rotation for the better part of two seasons, and it’s worked out well for them.

Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman, the goaltenders in question, have been the best duo in hockey over that span — winning 66% of their starts and stopping 92% of the shots they’ve faced. Ullmark even got his hands on the Vezina Trophy in 2023, with the duo splitting the William M. Jennings Trophy, as well. That’s pretty good.

Boston hasn’t stuck with the rotation consistently, though, going away with it in their first-round series during the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs.

The Bruins, you may remember, lost that series in seven games after Ullmark got the nod for the first six games and Swayman came in cold to eventually lose a thrilling overtime matchup in Game 7. If Boston wants to avoid the same fate, might it just keep the rotation this postseason?

“I think if we commit to a rotation, it’s going to be Game 1, Game 2, Game 3, Game 4,” Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery told reporters prior to Saturday’s matchup against the Florida Panthers at TD Garden. “If that’s what we end up deciding, we just go from there. I mean, obviously, performance and winning in the playoffs dictates a lot of our decision making.

“This is what we’re comfortable doing. It’s how our goalies are used to preparing, so we’ll see what ends up happening. It’s hard to win Game 1 and then switch, but if you’re committed to it, and if you think this is why the goaltenders have had tremendous success over the last two years — the results are what really matter.”

Montgomery has sort of wrestled with the decision in the last few weeks, trying to find the right answer when it’s anything but clear. It could come into focus down the stretch, as the Bruins have just five games remaining to finalize the decision.