The Bruins broke from their norm Saturday night at Scotiabank Arena.
After successfully employing a goalie rotation throughout the regular season, Boston went back to Jeremy Swayman for Game 4 against Toronto. It marked the first time since late February the 2024 All-Star started back-to-back games for the Bruins.
Swayman was excellent in Games 1 and 3 of the first-round Stanley Cup playoff series, so he deserved the nod. But Paul Bissonnette thought Jim Montgomery’s decision sent a message that worked in the Maple Leafs’ favor.
“The goaltending situation was giving me a migraine, but now I know I got the Boston Bruins rattled,” Bissonnette said before the game, as seen on TNT. “The conversation is now on the goaltending. As well as Swayman’s been playing, they’ve now broken the streak of going back and forth.”
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After Bissonnette’s fellow panelists accused the winger-turned-analyst of “making stuff up” with the narrative he claimed, “Biz” responded with a confident prediction.
“Oh yeah? We’ll see tonight when they light them up for five,” Bissonnette replied.
Unfortunately for Bissonnette, Toronto’s offense was nowhere to be found Saturday. Swayman and the Bruins defense limited the Leafs to only one goal in Game 4, and Sheldon Keefe’s side now finds itself on the brink of elimination.
Bissonnette might have been trying to will something into existence with his pregame take, as he predicted the Maple Leafs to win the series before it started. But at this point, it’s tough to have any sort of confidence in Toronto.
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Featured image via Nick Turchiaro/USA TODAY Images
