BRIGHTON — The Bruins had an ideal goalie situation this season with Jeremy Swayman and Linus Ullmark between the pipes. While coach Jim Montgomery rotated the duo from February until the end of the season, it was Swayman’s net throughout the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Ullmark started one game — Game 2 against the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round — but Montgomery went with Swayman from Game 3 until their ultimate Game 6 loss to the Florida Panthers to eliminate them from they playoffs.
“I couldn’t have done this playoff run without him, I can tell you that for sure,” Swayman said Sunday at Boston’s end-of-season availability. “And every year I’ve been with him, it’s been an absolute treat, and I couldn’t ask for a better partner, a better brother and a better teammate.
“… Him and his family mean the absolute world to me, and to come to the rink every day knowing that it’s more than just a teammate, it’s a brother that I would fight for in the rink, away from the rink, and I know that we’re going to be friends forever,” he added.
Fanatics Sportsbook
10X$100 BONUS BET
BET MATCH BONUS
Must be 21+. GAMBLING PROBLEM? Call 1-800-GAMBLER (CO, KY ,MD, OH, PA, TN, VA, VT, WV); (888) 789-7777 or ccpg.org (CT); 1-800-BETS-OFF (IA); (800) 327-5050 or gamblinghelpline.org (MA), mdgamblinghelp.org (MD), 1800gambler.net (WV)
Swayman said Ullmark provided him with “endless positivity” throughout the playoffs. And while Ullmark was happy to support his teammate and friend, it still was hard for him to sit on the bench and watch the games rather than play in them.
“So this is the thing about playing professional sports, one of the hardest things is to be off to the side because you want the team to succeed, but you want it to succeed with you as well,” Ullmark said. “So it’s definitely one of the hardest things, but I wasn’t alone in it. … I tried to carry myself very professionally and support every single one of my fellow teammates throughout this stretch.
“… I think it would’ve been tougher if I would’ve played most of the games leading up to the playoffs and then been sat aside,” the goalie added “Because then I might’ve felt entitled to play more games. But at this point, we had the rotation and I had a good conversation with (goalie coach) Bob (Essensa) as well, leading into the playoffs.”
Despite disappointment in not playing, but understanding why it wasn’t him in net, Ullmark’s support for Swayman never wavered.
“I’ve said this many times before when it comes to these sort of things — when it comes to me and Sway — we’re always gonna have each other’s backs and support each other,” Ullmark said. “Because that means if he’s playing well, the team’s playing well and we have a good opportunity to win. We wanna win the last game of the season.
“You have to stay professional,” he continued. “You have to put your pride aside and think about what’s better for the team right now.”
The tandem figures to be back in Boston next season. Swayman is due for a contract — something he’s confident will get done this summer — and Ullmark has one year left on his deal, though his name has come up in trade rumors.
But for now, the Bruins head into the offseason with quite a few questions to answer.
