Jeremy Swayman, Linus Ullmark and the Bruins playoff goalie rotation

June 29, 2024

BRIGHTON, Mass. — Jeremy Swayman will start in net on Saturday against the Montreal Canadiens. It will be the first of six games in a 10-day stretch for the Boston Bruins.

According to coach Jim Montgomery’s plan, Swayman and Linus Ullmark will rotate each of the six games, just as they have to this point through the Bruins’ 12-1-2 start. Neither goalie has given Montgomery any reason to change his template.

As for games in April, May and June, it’s possible that Swayman and Ullmark could keep sharing the net.

“For sure,” Montgomery answered when asked if he’d be more open to considering a playoff rotation. “Yup. Absolutely.”

Plenty of things could go sideways between now and then. An injury could happen, like the knee that Swayman tweaked last November. Swayman or Ullmark could regress to the point where one is clearly better than the other. The Bruins could fall flat on their faces and miss the playoffs.

But that Montgomery is even entertaining the notion of a playoff rotation shows how his thinking has evolved.

Montgomery, with counsel from goaltending coach Bob Essensa, makes the final call on which goalie will play. Of all the mistakes Montgomery committed in last year’s first round against the Florida Panthers, straying from the rotation was his biggest error.

Ullmark was healthy enough to play, but not healthy enough to deliver peak performance. Swayman was ready to go. By the time Montgomery called for relief in Game 7, it was too late. He had put Swayman in a terrible spot.

In retrospect, perhaps Montgomery had been influenced by traditional thinking. Coaches have always ridden the hot hand in the playoffs.

It’s different now. Montgomery appreciates the value of a pure rotation, especially one that is delivering Vezina Trophy-threshold results. Montgomery has not lost one wink of sleep over his goaltending, except maybe to worry about what might happen when slippage eventually occurs.

To this point, it hasn’t happened. Swayman has a .944 save percentage in seven starts. Ullmark is at .928 through eight starts. Their combined .939 save percentage is best in class.

According to Moneypuck, Swayman has saved 9.1 goals above expectation, third-best after Thatcher Demko and Jordan Binnington. Ullmark is at 4.4, No. 10 among goalies with seven or more appearances.

By all accounts, Swayman is performing better than Ullmark. The strength of their partnership, however, is unquestionably part of Swayman’s sparkling start. Swayman and Ullmark are thriving on the competition of the rotation and the physical and mental comfort afforded by starting every other game.

“If you have the goalies to do it, you’re going to,” Montgomery said of rotating two quality puckstoppers. “I do think that when you get into the league as a goalie, it takes a while before you’re ready to play 60 games. So you build up toward that. I think you can do that once you get established in the league. But the wear and tear on goalies is more significant now with the condensed schedule and how good everybody is. You’ve got to have a good goalie every night. So that’s why the balance makes it so important.”

The Bruins won in many ways during their 135-point romp in 2022-23. That list has been reduced to one primary factor so far: goaltending.

At five-on-five, the Bruins have a 47.98 Corsi For rating, per Natural Stat Trick. As of Friday, that placed them at No. 22. They were expected to have allowed 28.76 five-on-five goals. They have ceded just 18.

According to NHL Edge data, they are spending 41.6 percent of their even-strength time in the defensive zone. League average is 40.7 percent. In comparison, the Carolina Hurricanes are at 33.7 percent.

“That’s a lot of hockey,” Montgomery said of the pending six-game stretch. “Especially with how much time we’re spending in our D-zone so far.”

Swayman and Ullmark both want to play more. Swayman, who turns 25 next week, will be a restricted free agent after his one-year, $3.475 million contract expires after this season. His next contract would be more generous if he saw more action.

Ullmark will be unrestricted after 2025. He will be 32. By then, Swayman should be the full-time Bruins ace. Ullmark, in all likelihood, will be playing for another contract elsewhere.

But they know the team is optimized when they share the net.

“They’re a luxury that allows us to be an elite team,” Montgomery said. “That’s why, in my opinion, we had such a great regular season (last year). It’s surely why we’re having a great regular season this year. We just tell them up front, ‘We’re going to be alternating. You guys are both integral parts of why our team can be really good.’ It’s bearing out that way. The fact that they support each other so well — really, it’s the best outward example of why our culture is so good.”

(Photo: Sam Hodde / Getty Images)

ncG1vNJzZmismJqutbTLnquim16YvK57lGlua2lmaXxzfJFsZmppX2aEcK7RrqCnq12htq%2FB0maspaSdlr%2BsecmeqZ6lqWLAuK3YppinZw%3D%3D