Bruins' Jim Montgomery defends goalie change decision after starting Linus Ullmark in Game 2 loss

By ARJUN B

Modified Apr 23, 2024 07:02 GMT

Boston Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery stood by his decision to start goaltender Linus Ullmark in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday night.

Despite the Bruins' 3-2 loss, which tied the series at 1-1, Montgomery expressed no regrets about his choice to continue the team's season-long goalie rotation.

"No second guesses," Montgomery said in the post-game press conference. "He (Linus Ullmark) was terrific. He made multiple big-time saves and it's a strength of our team. Both of them played really well. We only scored two goals."

Ullmark, the reigning Vezina Trophy winner, made 30 saves on 33 shots faced, but it wasn't enough to secure a victory for the Bruins.

Before the game, Montgomery had been tight-lipped about his starting goaltender.

"I don't know why we would divulge information," Montgomery said before the game. "If you're preparing for a game, there are parts of a goaltender that are part of your pre-scout. So that's an advantage for us, right? If [they] don't know who's starting."

Montgomery said Boston failed to generate quality scoring chances against Maple Leafs goalie Ilya Samsonov, who stopped 27 of 29 shots.

"We're not playing fast enough. We're slow in transition, which is not allowing us to possess pucks and not allowing us to get in on the forecheck well enough. I didn't think our urgency was where it needed to be to prevail tonight."

The Maple Leafs received goals from Auston Matthews, Max Domi, and John Tavares.

David Pastrňák and Morgan Geekie scored for the Bruins, but it was not enough to overcome the Leafs' lead.

Linus Ullmark reflects on Game 2 loss to the Maple Leafs

Linus Ullmark acknowledged the uncertainty surrounding his position moving forward. With Jeremy Swayman's strong performance in Game 1 (35 saves in a 5-1 win), Montgomery will face another decision when the series shifts to Toronto for Game 3 on Wednesday.

"There's some good and bad things," Ullmark admitted when reflecting on his play.

"Obviously there's some things that I gotta clean up as well. I have to look at it, as I always say — always gotta look at it afterwards, see where the errors are. Look at some tendencies, maybe there's things that were really good and kind of build off of that."

As the Bruins prepare for the upcoming games, Ullmark remains focused on the present and the team's resilience.

"It's a long series," Ullmark said. "Now it's all about recharging. The sun will come up tomorrow as well. We go to Toronto, and then duke it out once again."

The Bruins will need to regroup and make the necessary adjustments as they head to Scotiabank Arena for game 3.