Last week at this time, the consensus was that Linus Ullmark had nudged ahead of Jeremy Swayman in the battle for the Bruins’ No. 1 goalie job. He was in the midst of his best stretch of the season, while Swayman was mired in his worst.
Has it swung back in just one week? Ullmark got hurt last Thursday when he took a slap shot off the helmet and has not played since. Swayman, meanwhile, has delivered two straight strong starts in wins over the Penguins and Blues. He’ll get a third straight start against a playoff team Thursday night, against Pittsburgh again.
Making his weekly appearance on The Greg Hill Show, Mike Milbury said he believes Swayman has shown enough that the Bruins should start treating him like their playoff starter now.
“It’s pretty obvious to me now that, while Swayman had a little bit of a tough time, it’s time to make him the number one goaltender,” Milbury said. “You don’t have to do it publicly, but on the side. He’s the better of the two goaltenders, maybe not by a country mile. But make a statement to the kid and play him the number of games he needs to be tested and ready to go and see what happens.”
Milbury acknowledged there’s some uncertainty with Swayman given that he’s a rookie who has never started a playoff game, but in his mind that’s all the more reason to commit to him and give him a confidence boost between now and the first round.
“Of course. You don’t have a history with Swayman, but to fear that is a mistake,” Milbury said. “You can only go by what you see. What I’ve seen lately, and what I’ve seen through most of the year, is that Swayman is a confident and capable goaltender. I think you stand with him and tell him he’s your guy and you’re gonna go with him.
“Things can change if he has a two- or three-game really bad stretch. Then you can go back to Ullmark at some point. But you have to make the kid feel like he’s the one. You don’t know, because he’s a first-year player for all intents and purposes, but I think you’re better off giving him the confidence that he’s gonna be the one to run with the ball and go with it.”
Listen to the full interview with Milbury here: