Bruins
Boston will need exceptional goaltending from whoever is between the pipes on any given night to make a long run at the Stanley Cup.
The Bruins already know how they will handle goaltending duties, at least early in the playoffs. (Photo by Rich Gagnon/Getty Images)
A year after a record-breaking regular season and a bitter first-round elimination, the Boston Bruins made good use of a transitional lineup to finish second in the Atlantic Division.
Heading into another first-round matchup with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Bruins fans have their share of reasons to be optimistic and concerned about a potential deep run. Let’s take a look at three reasons for each.
Optimism: The Bruins plan to utilize their dynamic goaltending tandem from the start.
The Bruins had the chance to overturn conventional wisdom last season with their dynamic duo in net. Instead, they waited too late to pivot to Jeremy Swayman after a tired Linus Ullmark wilted during the second half of the Florida series.
The Bruins relied heavily on Ullmark (22-10-7, 2.57 GAA, .915 SV%) and Swayman (25-10-8, 2.53 GAA, .916 SV%) during their season of transition. Now they enter this year’s series with the high-octane Leafs knowing Jim Montgomery’s plans in advance.
Indeed, the Bruins will have their hands full facing a powerful Leafs attack. But it also provides a perfect reason for the coaching staff to establish its plans for Ullmark and Swayman early.
“Performance and results will dictate some of it,” Boston general manager Don Sweeney said after Thursday’s practice. “But we know what the plan is, and so do they. And we are comfortable with that.
Concern: A potential fall or injury to Swayman or Ullmark.
With Ullmark’s performance down the stretch and Swayman’s impressive record this year against Toronto, the Bruins should remain confident in their tandem. But one or two shaky exits from either party could significantly damage their turnover prospects.
An injury to either goaltender will likely force the Bruins to go the other half for a possible extended run. The Avalanche and Golden Knights have both suffered injuries to Darcy Kuemper and Laurent Brossoit during their respective Cup runs over the past two seasons. Yet they already had established options in Adin Hill and Pavel Francouz to turn to for an extended period.
Brandon Bussi showed promise in his first season in Providence. But without any prior NHL experience, inserting Bussi into a rotation in the event of an injury to Swayman or Ullmark remains less than ideal.
Arguably the Bruins’ best path to a potential Cup run lies in their goaltending rotation. Any lapse – whether performance-based or injury-based – can derail any hopes of a deep postseason run.
Optimism: numerical inferiorities always operate at their highest level.
Boston’s toughest winning streak came in February when they allowed a power play, goals in four straight games. Since then, they have killed 60 of 71 attempts and allowed multiple goals just once in the last 27 games.
Between timely saves from Ullmark and Swayman and converging toward the front of the net to limit primary and secondary bidding, the Bruins used their penalty kill to build momentum in a 5v5.
This is a crucial development ahead of their first-round series against Toronto’s dynamic power play, which features a nearly 70-goal scorer in Auston Matthews and other power weapons like Mitch Marner, John Tavares, Morgan Reilly and William Nylander.
Concern: The power play enters the playoffs cold.
Boston’s developments regarding its top power play unit are less than ideal heading into the playoffs.
David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand have scored just one goal each on the power play since the All-Star break. Charlie McAvoy lost his role atop the top unit following an unforced turnover in Pittsburgh, which led directly to Drew O’Connor’s tally. Bad habits related to the power play continued in the regular season finale against Ottawa, when David Pastrnak’s mistake in the neutral zone led directly to Artem Zub’s empty net at the end of regulation time.
Slow setups, slow puck movement and lack of urgency sent Boston’s power play into a tailspin in the second half. Despite their strong 5-on-5 scoring performance, this year’s Bruins transition group can’t afford for the power play to decline any further.
But they will have a good opportunity to turn things around in the first round against Toronto’s 23rd player shorthanded. The Bruins have scored three goals in their 10 power play attempts against the Leafs this season.
Optimism: recent improvements to game management.
Sweeney filled Boston’s physical gaps after adding Andrew Peeke and Pat Maroon at the trade deadline. The cure did not come overnight. But slowly, the Bruins finally improved their situations late in the game.
The Bruins entered their best stretch of the second half of the season, beginning March 26 at Florida. Over a six-game span, the Bruins used various routes to victory thanks to productive goaltending and timely offense. The attention to detail in every area of the ice has resulted in more timely starts and even better finishes against several teams fighting for playoff positioning.
Despite losing three of their last four games, the Bruins have shown healthier habits to prepare for the playoffs. But can they build on their recent improvements in game management as every inch of ice becomes that much more valuable?
Concern: The Bruins will face a tough road to a possible run.
Neither the Bruins nor Leafs enter this year’s series as extremely prohibitive favorites. And they’ll likely face the same scenario if they advance to a second-round matchup with the winner of the Panthers-Lightning series.
If the Bruins advance past the Atlantic Division bracket, a matchup with the Rangers or Hurricanes in the conference finals could await them. Both teams possess aggressive forechecking and defensive structures that provided the Bruins with adjustments in their respective regular season meetings.
The first 82 provided a sample size. The real stakes begin on Saturday and will only increase with each pressing match.
“You know, when you started the season, this is what you want. You want to have the opportunity to play for a Cup,” Marchand said. “Toronto is going to be an extremely tough game… obviously a ton of firepower and they added some toughness at the deadline, playing a lot tougher, tougher brand hockey. So it’s going to be a great match, it should be fun and we’re excited to get started.
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