The Bruins, who have employed a two-goalie strategy for the full regular season with netminders Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman, will soon have to decide who to go with once the Stanley Cup Playoffs get going.
Alternatively, they can still use a two-goalie rotation as the NHL won’t prevent them from doing so. That, however, seems unlikely as it’s not an oft-used strategy during that high-stakes part of the season.
Bruins beat reporter Fluto Shinzawa of The Athletic addressed that question in an article posted on Tuesday, April 2.
“The answer, in all likelihood, won’t become clear until after the April 16 regular-season finale against the Ottawa Senators,” Shinzawa wrote. “For now, the Bruins are planning to rotate Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman for the rest of the regular-season run.”
It’s hard to envision the Bruins using a two-goalie strategy through their full, upcoming postseason run. If they end that strategy, Ullmark seems to have a leg up on Swayman, per Shinzawa.
That, however, is still to be determined.
In Shinzawa’s eyes, “Ullmark’s performance gives him the upper hand” entering the home stretch of the regular season.
“Since the trade deadline, when he learned he would not be moved, Ullmark has a [.950] save percentage over [six] starts,” Shinzawa analyzed. “Swayman, meanwhile, has an [.879] save percentage over his past [six] starts.”
