Boston Bruins coach Jim Montgomery will start goaltender Jeremy Swayman over Vezina frontrunner Linus Ullmark for Sunday’s Game 7 matchup with the Florida Panthers.
The move comes off the back of consecutive losses by the President’s Trophy winners that erased a 3-1 series lead, including a Game 6 meltdown during which Ullmark allowed four goals in the third period.
Bruins’ fans would not have expected to face elimination in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs after the most dominant regular season in the history of the NHL, but that is exactly where they find themselves thanks in no small part to Ullmark’s struggles.
After a superhuman season during which the Swede conceded just 1.89 goals per game with a .938 save percentage and a 40-6-1 record, Ullmark has been solved with regularity by Florida.
The 29-year-old has a comparatively disappointing 3.33 GAA in the postseason and has saved just .896 percent of the shots he has faced. Even before his team’s chaotic 7-5 collapse in Game 6, Ullmark conceded six goals in Game 2 and four on only 25 shots in an overtime loss at home during Game 5.
Swayman enters the fray having faced just a single shot in the series during a cameo appearance in Game 4. While he did not quite replicate the regular season dominance of Ullmark, Swayman had an impressive 2022-23 campaign, winning 24 contests with a 2.27 GAA and .920 save percentage.
In six career playoff starts, the American netminder is 3-3 with a 2.64 GAA and .907 save percentage. Victory and competence in Game 7 would virtually guarantee Swayman’s place in Boston’s net for what would be a second-round date with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
For Ullmark, the hook is a harsh reminder that no one is bulletproof in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Montgomery has a greater obligation to win the series than to appease any player, even one as effective as his number one goalie.
The Bruins will try to see off the Panthers at 6:30 pm ET on Sunday in their return to TD Garden, where they are 1-2 in the series.
