Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman starts Game 1 vs. Maple Leafs originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
BOSTON — The mystery is over.
The Boston Bruins are starting Jeremy Swayman for Game 1 of their first-round Stanley Cup Playoff series versus the Toronto Maple Leafs at TD Garden on Saturday night.
The B’s kept their goalie plans a secret all week with head coach Jim Montgomery refusing to announce the starter after practices or Saturday’s morning skate.
But when the teams took the ice for pre-game warmups about 30 minutes before the scheduled puck drop, it was Swayman that led the Bruins out.
The Bruins are hoping Swayman’s excellent performance against the Leafs in 2023-24 continues into the playoffs. He went 3-0-0 with a .959 save percentage in three starts versus Toronto during the regular season, inclduing a pair of 4-1 victories — one on the road and one at home — back in early March.
This will be the first time in Swayman’s playoff career that he will start Game 1 of a series for Boston. Ullmark started the opener in each of the last two first-round series for the Bruins.
Speaking of Ullmark, he closed the regular season in fine form, ranking No. 2 among all qualifying goalies in both save percentage (.935) and GAA (1.90) since the March 8 trade deadline.
It’s possible the Bruins use a goalie rotation to start the postseason, so there’s a chance Ullmark gets the net for Game 2 on Monday night. The veteran netminder made 37 saves in a 4-3 overtime win over the Leafs in Toronto on Dec. 2.
The Leafs are starting Ilya Samsonov in net Game 1. He went 0-0-1 with a .950 save percentage in one start vs. Boston — a shootout loss on Nov. 2 — during the regular season.
