Linus Ullmark is Bruins’ starting goalie for Game 2 vs. Maple Leafs originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
BOSTON — The Bruins are keeping their goalie rotation alive early in the first round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Despite an excellent performance from Jeremy Swayman in a 5-1 victory in Game 1 on Saturday, the Bruins are switching to Linus Ullmark for Monday night’s Game 2 at TD Garden.
Ullmark led the Bruins out onto the ice for pre-game warmups, indicating he is the guy in net.
Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery refused to reveal his starting goalie after Monday’s morning skate — he did the same thing in the buildup to the series opener, too.
Montgomery even said in his postgame press conference after Saturday’s win that “it’s going to be hard to go away from Sway.”
But the move to Ullmark shouldn’t really be much of a surprise. The last time a Bruins goalie started back-to-back games was Swayman on Feb. 19 and Feb. 21. Every game since has seen Boston alternate starting netminders, which is rarely seen in the playoffs but has worked very well for the Bruins over the last couple regular seasons.
Ullmark also played fantastic down the stretch. He ranked No. 2 among all qualifying goalies in both save percentage (.935) and GAA (1.90) after the March 8 trade deadline.
This will be Ullmark’s ninth career postseason start for the Bruins. He is 3-5-0 with a .888 save percentage and a 3.54 GAA in his previous eight playoff matchups.
