If Bruins coach Jim Montgomery had considered using a straight goalie rotation for the playoffs like he did all season, Jeremy Swayman gave a strong argument against it on Saturday night at the Garden.
In Game 1 of the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, Swayman (35 saves) was outstanding, especially early in the game, and the B’s easily defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs with a 5-1 win.
Montgomery’s decision on who will be the goalie for Game 2 will be interesting. Swayman not only performed exceptionally well on Saturday, but he has also won 4 times against the Leafs this season.
“It’s going to be hard to choose someone other than Sway. He played an excellent game,” said Montgomery. “We won 5-1. But like I said. If we decide to go with (Linus) Ullmark, we’re comfortable with it. And our team’s comfortable with it. It doesn’t affect us in the room, no matter who starts.”
It was Swayman’s first opportunity to start a Game 1, and he thoroughly enjoyed the moment, smiling during the national anthem.
“It’s a dream come true,” said Swayman. “It’s such a privilege to play in this league and for this city. Taking that first lap and seeing the fans wave the towels, it was a pretty emotional feeling. You just understand how hard it is to get here and what a great opportunity it is, so I couldn’t wipe that smile off my face the whole night. Pretty spectacular.”
His performance was also spectacular.
The B’s scored two power-play goals from Jake DeBrusk after rookie John Beecher and defenseman Brandon Carlo gave the B’s a 2-0 lead.
Similar to the last regular season game between the teams, it seemed like the Leafs (who were missing 40-goal scorer William Nylander with an undisclosed injury) wanted to show their strength, but their aggressive play resulted in some costly penalties.
The B’s were nervous in the early moments of the game, losing possession of the puck in their own end during the first couple shifts. But Swayman was alert, stopping all four shots, including at least one high-danger chance.
But it didn’t take long for the B’s to find their rhythm and take the lead in the game. Pat Maroon occupied two Leafs along the left wing wall in the Boston zone, allowing Jesper Boqvist to break out on a 2-on-1 with Beecher. From his off wing, Boqvist made a perfectly timed pass to Beecher, who beat Ilya Samsonov to the far side to excite the energized Garden crowd at 2:26.
“I was so excited,” said Beecher of the immediate joy. “I was in the corner and hit the glass and screaming and the boys were all jumping on me. It was one I’ll never forget.”
The B’s were very active after that, and Maroon was showing why he caught the B’s interest at the trade deadline. In addition to assisting on the first goal, he delivered three hits in the first period, including one that sent Timothy Liljegren into the Bruins’ bench.
The B’s had opportunities to take control of the game when they got the first two power plays. Although neither power play was dominant, Charlie Coyle hit the post on the first one and Pavel Zacha hit the crossbar on the second one.
The Leafs appeared to be enduring the pressure and, at the end of the period, the B’s carelessness with the puck surfaced again. Morgan Geekie failed to clear the puck out of the zone when he had the chance. This led to matching penalties for Charlie McAvoy and Max Domi in a net-front altercation. Then, as the period ended, Hampus Lindholm received a cross-checking penalty on Mitch Marner.
The Leafs got a power play with a 4-on-3 advantage for 1 minute and 50 seconds at the beginning of the second period while the B’s top two defensemen were in the penalty box.
Thanks to Swayman's strong saves, the B’s were able to survive the power play. Swayman then got lucky when Jarnkrok's shot went wide and he stopped Bertuzzi’s follow-up.
McAvoy slipped in a battle with Matthews and the puck went ahead of both. Swayman came out to play the puck, but Matthews reached it first and missed the empty net, hitting the post.
At 5:47, the B’s scored their second goal after a scramble behind the net. DeBrusk got the puck and passed to a wide-open Brandon Carlo, who scored with Coyle screening.
Matthews took a high-sticking penalty, and DeBrusk capitalized with a goal to make it 3-0 at 15:02.
The Leafs continued to take penalties, with Domi slashing Marchand. Marchand then set up DeBrusk for a goal with 5 seconds left in the power play.
At the start of the third period, the B’s made a costly mistake, allowing Kampf to score for the Leafs.
Despite the Leafs playing better as the period went on, the B’s killed off a late penalty, and Frederic scored an empty-net goal.
