Tag: Linus Ullmark

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Jim Montgomery hints at 3 major changes for Game 7.

The Boston Bruins are in an unexpected position heading into Sunday’s Game 7, facing the threat of an early elimination in the Stanley Cup playoffs after the most dominant regular season in National Hockey League history and after taking a commanding 3-1 lead over the Florida Panthers in this series.

It’s hard to believe but it feels like all of the pressure is now on the Bruins to close out the deal, and it seems as though head coach Jim Montgomery may be making the changes he feels necessary to deal with the toughest hurdle his team has faced all season.

Although Montgomery would not disclose any changes he made to his lineup on Sunday, there are some things we can infer based on how the Bruins behaved during their morning skate. The biggest of these changes appears to be a much anticipated change in goal, with backup goaltender Jeremy Swayman being the first off the ice during the skate on Saturday. This is usually an indication of who the starter will be, although things could change at a moments notice during the playoffs.

Montgomery also appeared to swap out a pair of skaters on Sunday, with Nick Foligno and Conor Clifton remaining on the ice late into practice, an indication that they will both be scratched tonight. Bruins insider Fluto Shinzawa of the Boston Globe believes that this means we will see Trent Frederic and Matt Grzelcyk step into the lineup tonight to replace those two aforementioned Bruins.

A first round exit would be incredibly disappointing after the season the Bruins had, and it will be very interesting to see how they react to that pressure tonight.

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Jim Montgomery hints at major change for Game 7

NBC Sports

For the second straight game, the Boston Bruins have been unable to punch their ticket to Round 2 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Their opponent in the Florida Panthers absolutely refuse to lay down, and have forced what just about everyone prior to the beginning of the series never thought was possible – a Game 7.

It was gritty forward Matthew Tkachuk who vowed after his overtime game winning goal in Game 5 at TD Garden that he and his teammates would be back for a winner-take-all Game 7, and his prediction has come to pass. Tkachuk scored two more goals and added an assist in what was an absolutely wild affair tonight at FLA Live Arena, a 7-5 final score to ensure that this series will be going the distance. 

The Bruins, who won an NHL-record 65 games during the regular season, looked rattled multiple times over the course of the game. Goaltender Linus Ullmark followed up his brutal giveaway in overtime of the previous game with another sorely subpar performance between the pipes, allowing six goals. 

Head coach Jim Montgomery admitted after the game that he considered pulling Ullmark in favor of backup Jeremy Swayman, and also hinted that it could be the latter who gets the nod in net on Sunday.

A Vezina Trophy candidate for his spectacular record during the regular season, Ullmark hasn’t been able to replicate the performance that saw him rack up 40 wins and a goals against average below that of two. 

“I felt good throughout the game…unfortunately, I couldn’t make that extra save today,” Ullmark explained in the dressing room after. “We’ve been trying to have the mindset throughout the season of closing the series, and we specifically did it during the season. We have one more opportunity on Sunday to get it.” 

The start time for Game 7 at TD Garden has yet to be announced. Who will get the start in goal for Boston? Who should it be? 

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Jim Montgomery addresses the goaltending controversy in Boston.

In what has been a stunning turn of events for many, the Bruins are now staring down the possibility of being eliminated in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs after a dominant regular season. Making matters even worse, the Bruins are doing so after taking a commanding 3-1 lead in their opening round series over the Florida Panthers and there is now a serious controversy when it comes to the Bruins lineup.

Many have questioned the performance of Bruins starting goaltender Linus Ullmark in these playoffs, a performance that has been uncharacteristically shaky after Ullmark had such a strong campaign in the regular season. In fact many believe that Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery has erred in his decision to keep going back to Ullmark, especially after how Game 6 came to an end.

On Saturday, Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery was asked about his goaltending situation and was questioned about who would get the start in Game 7, but the Bruins bench boss refused to give a straight answer. Montgomery did add that he had “no regrets” about his decision to go with Ullmark for 6 straight games to start this series, something that I find very hard to believe at this point in the series.

When pressed on the issue of a potential swap by Bruins reporter Jimmy Murphy, Montgomery admitted that if he did make a change in goal for Game 7 that the blame for such a decision would fall on the shoulders of Ullmark himself.

“Linus hasn’t stopped enough pucks,” admitted Montgomery. “Plain and simple.”

A big part of the reason Montgomery’s decision to stick with Ullmark has been questioned is due to the fact that the Bruins have a solid backup in Jeremy Swayman. Swayman had a strong regular season with a 2.27 goals against average and a .920 save percentage, and it sounds like there is at least a chance he may get to showcase his abilities in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

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Linus Ullmark quotes popular TV coach after brutal giveaway

San Diego Union Tribune

The Boston Bruins came into TD Garden last night leading the Florida Panthers in their Round 1 Stanley Cup Playoffs series by a three games to one advantage, and understandably feeling confident after a 6-2 triumph in Game 4 to take the series stranglehold. 

However, the Panthers have absolutely refused to go away quietly, and stunned the capacity crowd in Boston last night by taking advantage of a brutal giveaway in overtime by goaltender Linus Ullmark; Matthew Tkachuk’s goal at 6:05 of the extra session gave Florida new life, ensuring that there will be a Game 6 back at FLA Live Arena: 

This kind of adversity is unfamiliar territory for the Bruins, who won an NHL record 65 games during the regular season while also re-writing several franchise marks for success. It goes to show that regular season success means nothing when it comes to the postseason. 

“I tried to get back in the net, and then he sent it in. You know, I tried to put myself in a position where he can’t bank it off me. Unfortunately, it hits my skate, and then it ends up in the wrong hands,” Ullmark said of the fateful giveaway in overtime. “And from there it was kind of a situation where I couldn’t get back into position. And you know, he takes it by and puts it in.”

“I don’t know. I have to look at it tonight or tomorrow and see what I could have done better,” Ullmark said on how he moves on and throws this game in the trash. “You know, maybe I should have rimmed it, maybe I should have went up the middle. It’s hard to say. I thought that was the best play. That’s it. And it ended up being, you know, the worst play. That happened, and we can all think about what I should have done or could have done. But also, maybe if I did that, maybe it would have been the same results. Who knows? This is the life of hockey and this is the game sometimes.”

Ullmark then delivered a quote from the popular Emmy Award-winning Apple TV series ‘Ted Lasso.’

“You just have to have the mind of a goldfish,” Ullmark said, quoting the eponymous soccer coach. 

Game 6 between the Panthers and Bruins will be back in the Sunshine State on Friday night.

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Tkachuk goes after Ullmark and all hell breaks loose in Game 4!

The Boston Bruins and the Florida Panthers are not done with their first round Stanley Cup playoff series just yet, and facing elimination the Florida Panthers attempted to send a message late in the third period of Game 4.

All hell broke loose when Panthers agitator Matthew Tkachuk invaded the Bruins crease and drew the ire of Bruins goaltender Linus Ullmark, eventually leading to a dogpile on Tkachuk and then a larger brawl between the Panthers and the Bruins on the ice as neither team was willing to give ground.

Tkachuk would attempt to get at Ullmark during all of the chaos and the Bruins goaltender appeared eager to throw fists with the Panthers forward, but the National Hockey League officials on the ice were having none of it.

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Key updates on Bergeron, Ullmark, and Krejci ahead of Game 4.

The Boston Bruins have taken a 2-1 series lead over the Florida Panthers in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, and it sounds like that lead may have granted Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery some luxuries when it comes to his lineup.

On Saturday, Montgomery hinted at 2 possible changes to the Bruins lineup ahead of Game 4 when he provided updates on both goaltender Linus Ullmark and veteran forward David Krejci.

In the case of Ullmark, Montgomery admitted that he had given some thought to the idea of swapping in goaltender Jeremy Swayman for Game 4 in order to give Ullmark, who is dealing with a minor injury, some additional time to rest in the middle of the series.

“Yeah there is thoughts of going with Jeremy,” admitted Montgomery on Saturday. “Just because, one, Jeremy’s excellent, and two after tomorrow’s game there’s three days between the next one… game’s 4 and 5.”

Montgomery also indicated that David Krejci, who missed Game 3 of the series, could possibly return for Game 4 but he did not have any more to say regarding the status of the veteran Bruins forward.

“Krejci no,” responded Montgomery when asked if Krejci would skate on Saturday. “There’s no real update, I would just say he’s questionable for tomorrow.”

Montgomery was also able to confirm that Bergeron remained on track to return, not for Sunday’s Game 4, but for Game 5 this coming Wednesday.

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Jim Montgomery names his goalie for Game 4

Brian Fluharty/Getty

The Boston Bruins are set to face off against the Florida Panthers on Sunday afternoon and based on the decision made by Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery it seems safe to suggest that he is hoping to see his team take a stranglehold on this series.

On Saturday, Montgomery hinted at the possibility that we could see backup goaltender Jeremy Swayman make an appearance in Game 4 but that will not be the case after all. Montgomery confirmed on Sunday that it will be Linus Ullmark who once again gets the start for the Bruins.

Here is the rest of your Boston Bruins lineup for Game 4:

Forwards:

Brad Marchand-Charlie Coyle-Jake DeBrusk
Tyler Bertuzzi-Pavel Zacha-David Pastrnak
Nick Foligno-Trent Frederic-Taylor Hall
Jakub Lauko–Tomas Nosek–Garnet Hathaway
Defensemen:

Matt Grzelcyk-Charlie McAvoy
Hampus Lindholm-Brandon Carlo
Derek Forbort-Dmitry Orlov

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Bruins release projected lineup for critical Game 3

NHL.com

The Boston Bruins were punched in the mouth by the Florida Panthers on Wednesday night, and they had no response. The Panthers, who played the Bruins hard in Game 1 of their Round 1 postseason series despite a 3-1 setback, dominated Game 2 and tied up the series with a convincing 6-3 win. 

The two teams have since shifted locations, as they’re now in Florida for Games 3 and 4 that will be played at FLA Live Arena. The Bruins have already announced that captain Patrice Bergeron will not be suiting up for either contest, though there’s a chance he could be back for Game 5 back at Boston’s TD Garden. Meanwhile, goaltender Linus Ullmark is said to be a game-time decision. 

“Ullmark is a game-time decision and Bergeron did not make the trip,” head coach Jim Montgomery confirmed Friday morning.

Meanwhile, it will be Jakub Lauko replacing Nick Foligno up front, while Matt Grzelcyk replace Connor Clifton on the blue line.

“We couldn’t come to a consensus,” Montgomery explained when discussing lineup changes for Game 3. “So you know how they do the lotto balls, how they come out? We just spit them out and I like how they came out. There’s a method to how we think the lines will help us for tonight.”

Take a look at tonight’s projected line combinations for the critical Game 3 matchup:

Forwards 

Brad Marchand-Charlie Coyle-Trent Frederic

Tyler Bertuzzi-Pavel Zacha-David Pastrnak

Taylor Hall-David Krejci-Jake DeBrusk

Jakub Lauko–Tomas Nosek–Garnet Hathaway

Defensemen

Matt Grzelcyk-Charlie McAvoy

Hampus Lindholm-Brandon Carlo

Derek Forbort-Dmitry Orlov

Tonight’s game will officially get underway starting at 7:30 PM EST. 

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Decision announced on Linus Ullmark for Bruins’ Game 3 minutes prior to puck drop

NHL.com

Fans started to get worried on Friday morning when at practice in Florida, Boston Bruins goalie Linus Ullmark was absent ahead of Game 3 of their first round series against the Panthers.

Then, head coach Jim Montgomery made him a game-time decision. Now, the decision time has come and finally, Ullmark fooled everyone by heading out onto the ice for warmups, leading his Bruins in the starting role for this contest.

Ullmark turned aside 24 of 29 shots against the Panthers in Game 2’s 6-3 loss. In the regular season, he went 40-6-1 in 46 appearances, posting a .938 save percentage and 1.89 goals-against average.  

The Bruins and Panthers are tied 1-1 in their first-round, best-of-seven playoff series with Game 3 underway in a few minutes. 

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Bruins apprehend significant lineup change due to unexpected health update

NHL

I’m not going to mess around : the Boston Bruins and head coach Jim Montgomery announced after practice on Friday that goalie Linus Ullmark was a game-time decision for Game 3 later tonight in the first round series against the Florida Panthers, per insider Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. 

Ullmark was absent from practice in the morning after turning aside 24of 29 shots against the Panthers in Game 2’s 6-3 loss.

All eyes will be on the warmup in a few hours to see if Boston will turn to Jeremy Swayman for the third contest of the series.

The Bruins and Panthers are tied 1-1 in the first round.

More to come as the story develops.

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