Is Swayman the right call for Game 1 vs. Panthers?

After sticking the Boston Bruins stuck to a rotation of Jeremy Swayman and Linus Ullmark in the regular season, Jim Montgomery shifted to giving most of the games to Swayman. Now just a couple of games after their Game 7 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs, they’re going with Swayman again.

Colby Cohen and Tyler Yaremchuk talked about the Bruins goalie tandem on Daily Faceoff Live and whether they should have gone back to the rotation or not for the start of the second round.

Colby Cohen: It’s the right call. A guy who just played as well as he did over the last week, you’re not taking him out of the net because at the end of the day, right now, it’s the playoffs. I don’t care about rotations, I don’t care about plans, I care about the fact that Jeremy Swayman gives you the best chance to win against the Florida Panthers.

Now if they lose Game 1, okay, they go to Linus Ullmark in Game 2 and you’re looking for a split. I just don’t think you can take the net from Swayman when he is playing at a Conn Smythe level right now. He is playing at a dominant level, higher than any other goalie in the playoffs. I just don’t buy the rest thing, I really don’t. There will be opportunities, there’s days between games. He seemed to get better as the series went along.

I said it on Morning Cuppa Hockey because Johnny Lazarus didn’t agree with me. He thought Ullmark would be in the net and he’s usually wrong, so I felt really confident about the fact that Swayman would start. I absolutely like the move.

Tyler Yaremchuk: I would have gone with Ullmark. Game 7 was 48 hours ago. The rotation got you here, they did it in the first round series…

Colby Cohen: No they really didn’t. They only played Ullmark in Game 2.

Tyler Yaremchuk: Yeah okay, that’s fair. They did eventually stick to Swayman. I don’t know, I would stick with the rotation early on.

Colby Cohen: Well let me ask you a question. Who gives you the best chance to win in a hockey game right now? Swayman or Ullmark

Tyler Yaremchuk: I think the difference is incredibly marginal, and I think the difference, at least in what you maybe lose, is outweighed by keeping Swayman fresh if you want to go on a long run.

Colby Cohen: I think that’s a fair answer. I think there’s a lot of people who would make that same argument. But, when that guy’s at that level, I’m not taking him out of the net.

You can watch the full episode here…