Blame the defense and a lack of urgency for the Bruins' Game 2 loss and not Linus Ullmark
The Bruins were unable to come away with a win in Game 2 against the Maple Leafs on Monday night, falling 3-2 at the TD Garden.
A lot of attention has been placed on the Bruins for starting goalie Linus Ullmark over Jeremy Swayman.
Ullmark made 30 saves in the loss and, in the process, bailed out his teammates, particularly his defense, all night. The score could have tilted in a completely different direction if he was unable to make his glove save at the corner of the net, robbing Tyler Bertuzzi. Plus, Bertuzzi’s high-stick goal that was reversed could have made it a 5-2 final.
Fans on social media blasted head coach Jim Montgomery following Auston Matthews breakaway goal, the game-winner 12:06 into the third period. It’s easy to second-guess and say “stick with the hot hand” in Swayman.
The odds that any goalie would stop the Leafs’ 69-goal scorer in Matthews on that breakaway attempt are slim to none. “Yeah, there’s a reason he scored 69,” Ullmark said of Matthews. “So, try to get him next time. That’s all I can say now.”
“No second guesses,” Montgomery told reporters postgame. “[Ullmark] was terrific. He made multiple big-time saves. And it’s a strength of our team. Both of them played really well, right? I mean, we only scored two goals.”
To an extent, I understand the second guessing if fans are going by Ullmark's career playoff numbers. Prior to Game 2, Ullmark owned a 3-5 record in the playoffs with a 3.54 GAA and a .888 save percentage (nine career starts). On the flip side, Swayman is 4-4 but with a better 2.56 GAA and .912 save percentage (nine career games). The edge clearly goes to Swayman, strictly off the numbers on the stat sheet.
I am no Ullmark truther; in fact, the Bruins should have shipped him out at the trade deadline. Now, I should be clear: Boston tried to do that; however, Don Sweeney attempted to trade the goalie to one of the teams on his no-trade list.
Sweeney should have taken more heat from the Bruins beat writers for the inability to move the player. In theory, shipping him off to the Kings would have helped the roster for the remainder of this season and beyond. Once the playoffs are over, the club still has to re-sign Swayman and deal with the elephant in the room.
Back to Game 2, winning in the Stanley Cup playoffs with a goalie rotation is rare, and the combination of Ullmark and Swayman has proved thus far that the rotation doesn’t work.
If you had truly watched Game 2, you would have come to the conclusion that Ullmark was not the reason the Bruins lost.
Charlie McAvoy was almost non-existent the entire game outside of getting an assist. Hampus Lindholm was been placed in the witness protection program once the Stanley Cup playoffs got underway. He has been a non-factor since Sweeney acquired him from the Ducks.
The Bruins lacked urgency in the game, playing in their own zone, with Toronto consistently dominating the front of the net all game. Too many missed opportunities to clear the puck efficiently in the game were a major factor in the loss.
The Bruins lost Andrew Peeke to a finger injury in the game; he took a shot off the hand with 6:25 left in the second period. Peeke has been one of the Bruins best penalty killers since he was acquired from Columbus. He is considered week-to-week, according to 98.5 the Sports Hub’s Ty Anderson. Peeke will not travel to Toronto, per Boston.com’s Conor Ryan.
Since the start of March, the two goaltender didn’t start more than one straight game, based off that, it’s likely the rotation will continue. Swayman finished the year with a 25-10-8 record, a .916 save percentage and a 2.53 goals-against average, while Ullmark's record for 2023-24 stood at 22-10-7 record with a .915 save percentage and a 2.58 GAA.
“There’s some things to clean up, definitely,” said Ullmark. “But it’s a long series and now it’s all about recharging. The sun will come up tomorrow as well. We go to Toronto and duke it out once again.”
The Bruins defense let down Ullmark, and the defensive issues have been an ongoing problem all season. If Boston plays like they did in Game 2, they will be out in the first round, just like last season.
