Goaltending rotation won’t mean much if the Bruins play with fire on defense

Don Sweeney admitted last week that the Bruins already had a “plan” in place regarding the goalie rotation.

But the Boston general manager added a qualifier to his thoughts.

“They know what their strengths are for our hockey club and how much we rely on them,” Sweeney said of Boston’s double-team of Jeremy Swayman and Linus Ullmark. “Performance and results will dictate some of that.”

At this point in the NHL schedule, wins and losses trump all other statistics. As such, the Bruins aren’t looking back on the good things from Monday’s Game 2 loss to the Maple Leafs.

After giving up three goals on 33 shots against Toronto on Monday, Ullmark will likely be relegated to the bench Wednesday for Game 3 at Scotiabank Arena – with Boston turning to Swayman (35 saves on 36 shots in Game 1) in what would be the 28th back-to-back game where the Bruins alternate between goalies.

Regardless of the next outcome in Toronto, the talk of goaltending rotation is destined to continue for as long as Boston’s playoff campaign continues.

But Monday’s 3-2 loss was a sobering lesson for the Bruins.

No matter which goaltender Montgomery turns to in Games 3, 4 and beyond, Boston won’t stay afloat against this potent Leafs offense if they continue to tread water in their own corner of the ice.

“We’re not playing fast enough,” Montgomery lamented after Boston’s first loss to Toronto of the season. “We’re slow in transition, which doesn’t allow us to possess the puck and it doesn’t allow us to participate more on the forecheck.”

Boston’s inability to generate quality scoring chances against Ilya Samsonov and Toronto’s malleable defense compounded their woes Monday night. Certainly, it’s a daunting undertaking for any NHL offense to gain ground when its puck movement is crackling in the D zone and on neutral ice.

In a similar vein to their shocking first-round elimination last spring against the Panthers, the Bruins’ breakout worked against the Maple Leafs’ forecheck on Monday – with rushed passes and ill-advised passes often leading to shots quality A. to Ullmark.

Despite all the warts present on Toronto’s roster – especially on the defensive end of the ice – the Leafs have enough firepower to shred even the toughest goalies occupying the crease.

Swayman and Ullmark (who destroyed quality scoring chances from Calle Jarnkrok and Nicholas Robertson in Game 2) were up to the task against Toronto.

The same cannot be said for the skaters in front of both goalies, especially Ullmark on Monday.

“I didn’t think our urgency was where it needed to be to win tonight,” Montgomery added.

Even if Montgomery had opted to scrap the goaltending rotation and roll with Swayman on Monday, the results likely would have been the same in Game 2 — a game where Toronto held a massive 37-17 advantage in scoring chances and an advantage from 14-7 in the second game. very dangerous looks.

Strong goaltending has buoyed the Bruins’ defensive numbers all season long, at times masking a D-zone structure that tends to cough up quality chances in and around the slot.

Boston may have ranked fifth in the NHL during the regular season in goals against per game (2.70), but the Bruins were also eliminated for coughing up 11.42 scoring chances at five versus five per game (according to Natural Stat Trick).

That ranked 24th overall in the NHL in regular season play – and dead last among the 16 teams currently in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Pucks thrown into no-man’s land, missed clearances and careless plays in the neutral zone can make life miserable for a defense. Against a team as deadly as the Maple Leafs, this can put you on the floor in no time.

A break in front of the net between Brandon Carlo and Hampus Lindholm in the first period gave Max Domi enough time to score his own rebound past Ullmark – just 14 seconds after Morgan Geekie’s opening goal.

A blown clearing attempt by Jake DeBrusk and Kevin Shattenkirk’s missed opportunity to fall to the ice for a block led to John Tavares scoring a power play goal in the next frame. Not good enough, especially against this opponent.

“I think in the neutral zone we need to be a little quicker and simpler,” noted Pavel Zacha. “I think trying to play through the neutral zone – that’s not our game and then their D has a lot more time than we want to get pucks in. So that’s one of the things where We need to improve.”

The Bruins still hold a sizable advantage in net during this series, whether it’s Swayman or Ullmark getting the call. The emphasis on fighting towards the inside of the ice should help Boston’s efforts land more shots against Samsonov.

But if Boston doesn’t tighten up its transition game and reduce the time spent in its own zone, the goalie rotation will once again have little influence on this team’s efforts to punch a ticket to the second round.

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