Bruins aren’t naming a starting goalie, lineup changes ahead of Game 7 vs. Panthers
"We're a team, everyone's contributed to get us here to this point."
With their season hanging in the balance, Jim Montgomery and the Bruins aren’t tipping their hand over which netminder will get the start in a decisive Game 7 on Sunday night.
Following Boston’s morning skate at Warrior Ice Arena, Montgomery did not announce a starting goaltender against the Panthers — with official word set to come when either Linus Ullmark or Jeremy Swayman lead the team onto the TD Garden ice for warmups in a few hours.
The Bruins also did not take part in line rushes on Sunday morning, with any potential lineup tweaks also shrouded until warmups commence.
“There might be,” Montgomery said when asked about potential roster reshuffles.
For those trying to read the tea leaves, Swayman was the first goalie off the ice for the Bruins on Sunday morning — a potential indication that the 24-year-old goalie will make his first start of the 2023 playoffs later tonight.
Other players who stayed out longer on the ice at Warrior include Connor Clifton, A.J. Greer, Jakub Lauko, Nick Foligno, and Jakub Zboril. Clifton and Foligno skating with other likely lineup scratches could hint that the Bruins are set to swap in Matt Grzelcyk and Trent Frederic for both skaters in Game 7.
Grzelcyk’s puck-moving prowess and Frederic’s heft at the netfront should aid the Bruins on Sunday.
Ullmark has earned all six starts against Florida in this first-round series. And be it injury, fatigue, or other factors, the Vezina Trophy front runner has labored down the stretch. In Games 5 and 6, Ullmark relinquished 10 goals and posted an .824 save percentage.
Swayman (17-3-1, four shutouts, .932 save percentage over his final 21 regular-season games) might offer a higher ceiling in net for Game 7. But the young netminder has only logged 3:11 of ice time in this series, and hasn’t started a game in 17 days.
Swayman might be forced into a win-or-go-home scenario cold. Still, it might offer Boston’s best shot at extending this season for at least a few more weeks.
“We’ll just keep chugging along, no matter who’s playing,” Taylor Hall said of a potential goalie switch. “We’re a team, everyone’s contributed to get us here to this point. Whoever’s in, whoever’s playing, whoever plays 25 minutes, whoever plays 10 — has to do a job. We’re gonna need everyone, no matter how far this goes.”
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