Bruins' Montgomery, Leafs' Keefe trade jabs as mental game heats up
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Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe rejected the idea that Max Domi's collision with Jeremy Swayman during a break in Game 3 was a sign the Bruins goaltender is in the heads of his players.
Boston head coach Jim Montgomery made the suggestion while speaking to reporters earlier on Thursday after being asked about Swayman improving to 5-0 against Toronto this season after backstopping the Bruins to a 4-2 win on Wednesday night.
"With that logic you would say every time they bump into one of our guys maybe we’re in their heads," Keefe said Thursday. "I don’t think that has anything to do with anything."
"…I sense zero frustration," Keefe added of his team's view towards Swayman.
There was little doubt that Domi's run-in with Swayman as the goaltender skated to the Boston bench did not sit well with the Bruins.
"When Domi goes off the bench and bumps him on purpose, makes me think that maybe he’s in their head a little bit," Montgomery said.
“Those are the things in the game you don’t really want to allow," Bruins defenceman Brandon Carlo added of the incident. "I didn’t see it, Patty Maroon did and he was making sure everyone knew that Domi had done that.”
Forward Trent Frederic called Domi's bump "kind of wild" and echoed the sentiment shared by Montgomery and Carlo.
"Maybe [Swayman is] getting in their head, making a lot of saves, but we also have Linus too. So, bump our goalies, I don’t know, didn’t work last night," he said.
Game 4 starter remains to be decided
Montgomery took a familiar tone Thursday on who will start in net when the team attempts to take a commanding 3-1 series lead over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday.
Montgomery said the extra off-day between Games 3 and 4 could sway his decision, but did not commit to either Jeremy Swayman or Linus Ullmark. The two netminders have traded starts for the majority of the season, with neither seeing more than one straight start since late February.
“We’re going to have more rest,” Montgomery said. “But both goalies … the rotation’s been so good for us. It’s a hard decision.”
Swayman improved to 2-0 in the postseason with a 28-save performance in the Bruins 4-2 win in Game 3. He stopped 35 of 36 shots in a 5-1 victory in Game 1.
“Any time I get a chance to play, I’m going to do whatever I can to help this team win,” Swayman said after Wednesday's victory. “Whether it’s back-to-back to every other game, I’m just really grateful every time I do get a chance, and that’s all I worry about.”
“I’m never going to expect anything. I’m going to earn it. That’s all I care about.”
Montgomery has yet to name his starting goaltender ahead of any game in the series.
Ullmark had a 30-save performance in Game 2, but the Maple Leafs came out on top with a 3-2 victory.
"No second guesses. He was terrific," Montgomery said after Game 2 of starting Ullmark. "He made multiple big-time saves, and it's the strength of our team. Both of them played really well.
"We only scored two goals."
There was little to separate the two goaltenders in the regular season. Swayman finished the year with a 25-10-8 record, a .916 save percentage and a 2.53 goals-against average, while Ullmark's record for 2023-24 stood at 22-10-7 record with a .915 save percentage and a 2.58 GAA.