Bruins coach Jim Montgomery did not have a starting goalie to announce when he met with media Saturday afternoon shortly after the team landed back in Boston.
"No. We're gonna meet tomorrow morning and we'll finalize all of that," Montgomery said when asked about goaltending and lineup calls.
Some of the lineup decisions could be relatively straightforward, such as bringing Matt Grzelcyk back in on defense.
The goalie decision, though? That's a tough one. Triple crown winner and Vezina Trophy frontrunner Linus Ullmark has struggled the last two games, giving up 10 goals. He has gotten beat by shots from distance that he usually stops, has had a shaky glove at times, and committed a brutal turnover that led to Florida's overtime winner in Game 5.
Jeremy Swayman, who was every bit Ullmark's equal in the second half of the season when the Bruins rotated the two, has not started a game in this series. He has played three minutes and faced one shot on goal in a game situation in the last two weeks.
Montgomery acknowledged that a change in net is under consideration, and concisely explained why he would move away from Ullmark for the first time in seven games if that is in fact what he decides to do.
"Linus didn't make enough stops. That would be the reason to make a switch," Montgomery said.
Montgomery was then asked if he regrets not giving Swayman a game at some point this series, which could have alleviated concerns about Swayman coming in "cold" in a Game 7. He said he has no regrets, and would not be worried about turning to Swayman now, invoking the names of Roger Clemens and Tom Brady in the process.
"No. No regrets," Montgomery said. "Nothing good happens if you live with regret. You make a mistake, you admit it, you move on. That's how you move on from regret. But I don't regret the decisions that we've made as a staff and that I've personally made for lineup decisions and who's been in nets.
"And when it comes to Jeremy Swayman, he is the most confident individual that I know. He's kind of like, you give the ball to Clemens to go and win in Game 7 on the mound. You're down the last two minutes and Tom Brady's got the ball, you like your chances. If it's Swayman that's in nets, I have the utmost confidence in him."
And he wouldn't have any reservations about throwing Swayman into such a pressure-packed situation for his first start of the postseason?
"No reservations at all," Montgomery said. "Just like I would've had no reservations about putting him in in Game 6. We just decided to go with Linus."
So, there you go. Does any of that tell us anything about which way Montgomery is leaning? It kind of sounds like it might be Swayman, right? Then again, this is the playoffs, and Montgomery has run some misdirection with his public comments already this series.
Maybe we'll get a clearer answer after Sunday's morning skate, or perhaps we'll have to wait until pregame warmups to see which goalie leads the Bruins onto the ice. Puck drop is set for 6:30 p.m. Sunday evening at TD Garden.
For more Bruins coverage, tune in to Sunday Skate with Andrew Raycroft and Scott McLaughlin Sunday 10-11 a.m. on WEEI 93.7 FM or the Audacy app or by streaming the show below:
