Charlie McAvoy Addresses Bruins’ Goalie Situation Before Game 2

The Bruins entered the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs with a good problem on their hands.

The goalie situation arguably was the biggest question mark hovering over Boston heading into the postseason. The Bruins roster a pair of standout netminders, who successfully rotated throughout the regular season and helped the club finish with the Eastern Conference’s fourth-highest point total.

Jeremy Swayman received the nod for Game 1 of Boston’s first-round series against Toronto, and the 2024 All-Star shined with 35 saves in a 5-1 win at TD Garden. But while Swayman was spectacular Saturday night, head coach Jim Montgomery wasn’t willing to immediately commit to the 25-year-old for Game 2.

Charlie McAvoy doesn’t appear to have a preference for who slots between the pipes for the Black and Gold on Monday. The star defenseman has the utmost confidence in both goaltenders.

“They’ve been everything for us since they started here together,” McAvoy told reporters Sunday, per team-provided video. “I think that’s the best way to say it: It’s a luxury. You have complete faith and trust in whoever’s in the net that they’re gonna play awesome and they’re gonna backstop us and put out fires and that’s what they both do.”

Montgomery on Saturday night admitted it would be “hard to go away” from Swayman after he played so well in the best-of-seven series opener. But the Bruins coach left the door open for Linus Ullmark to enter the lineup for Game 2 and acknowledged his staff was “still contemplating” the goalie decision as of Sunday afternoon.

Boston didn’t divulge its Game 1 goalie plan until pregame warmups Saturday evening. So, don’t be surprised if Montgomery and company follow a similar timeline for the second tilt against the Leafs.