Takeaways: Jeremy Swayman shines as another goaltending decision awaits

Jim Montgomery kept a passionate fanbase on edge regarding the Game 1 starter in net. But by the end, 17,850 of the Causeway faithful stood in unison to celebrate a 5-1 victory.

Jeremy Swayman stopped all but one of the 36 shots he faced, allowing his only marker early in the third on David Kampf’s rebound tally. And unlike his previous postseason outing, his teammates provided plenty of offensive support.

An energetic Bruins bunch received timely secondary scoring throughout Saturday’s season opener, with Johnny Beecher, Brandon Carlo, Jake DeBrusk (twice on the power play) and Trent Frederic pacing the offensive output.

Here’s what we learned as the Bruins made an early statement to kick off their fourth postseason matchup with the Leafs since 2013.

Swayman makes his case for Game 2 start.

Montgomery and the coaching staff remained mum on revealing their Game 1 starter until warmups. In the end, the Bruins trotted out Swayman to give him a chance at something he hasn’t done in his career to date: start a playoff series.

“Swayman hadn’t started a series before in the last couple of years,” Montgomery said. “We wanted to see how he handled it, and he did really well.”

On this night, Swayman remained poised and square to the puck. At times, he was prone to rebounds, as seen on David Kampf’s third-period marker, but the fourth-year netminder never wavered during an active night against Toronto’s potent offense.

Swayman’s impressive outing may tempt the Bruins to keep him in the crease for Game 2. But they also remain confident in Linus Ullmarak if they call the 2023 Vezina Winner’s number.

“It’s going to be hard to go away from Sway,” Montgomery said. “He played a terrific game. We won 5-1. But if we decide to go with Ullmark, we’re comfortable with it.”

A confident Swayman received some breaks along the way, including one that nearly resulted in a Toronto equalizer during the second frame. Yet, after averting Swayman’s poke check, two-time Rocket Richard winner Auston Matthews rang iron on an open net to keep the Bruins ahead 1-0.

Before that, Swayman had his best stretch during Toronto’s 4-on-3 power play in the second. After watching one of their backbones stop all four shots during that 1:50 span, the Bruins wasted little time providing Swayman with scoreboard support, beginning with Carlo’s blast.

A momentum shifter from Boston’s special teams.

Like their final two regular-season meetings, the Bruins overwhelmed the Leafs in nearly every facet. But for a minute, Toronto almost had the Bruins on the ropes.

The potent Leafs generated their best attempts of the night in the final minute of the opening frame. Swayman stood tall, denying the likes of Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner. But the Bruins entered the middle frame facing a 4-on-3 situation for 1:50 with two regular shorthanded defensemen, Hampus Lindholm and Charlie McAvoy, serving respective interference and roughing minors.

The Bruins leaned heavily on Charlie Coyle, Pavel Zacha, Brandon Carlo and Andrew Peeke, with Matt Grzelcyk sprinkled in for a shift during the 4-on-3 kill. Between the numerous clears out of the defensive zone and Swayman’s timely saves, the Bruins kept momentum on their side at a pivotal moment.

“They have a lot of skill,” Swayman said of Toronto’s power play. “I was just focused on our three outworking their four.”

Conversely, Boston’s struggling power play outworked Toronto’s liable penalty kill.

Behind two entirely different-looking units, the Bruins nearly converted on their first two attempts with the man advantage, hitting the post each time during the opening stanza. But the urgency from those chances carried over into the second.

In his net-front role on the secondary unit, DeBursk turned a 2-0 game into a four-goal cushion with a pair of greasy markers.

“Well, I just feel like it’s fresh and players are moving and I like the way we’re converging,” Montgomery said. “The pace of the power play looks fast. And when the power play looks fast, the penalty kill has to make a split-second decision. So I think that’s even the first couple of power plays we didn’t score on. I thought there was traffic convergence at the net that was creating opportunities to score.”

DeBrusk’s power play pair created separation on a night where the Bruins had their legs going from the get-go.

Boston’s fourth line created ‘havoc’ from their first shift on.

Toronto’s top-end core of Matthews, William Nylander (who missed Saturday with an injury), Mitch Marner, John Tavares and Morgan Reilly can turn any game on a dime. But the playoffs also provide countless examples of unsung moments out of a third or fourth line.

Such was the case in Game 1 with Boston’s fourth trio of Beecher, Jesper Boqvist and Pat Maroon. All three made an immediate impact.

On their first shift, Maroon sprung Beecher and Boqvist on a 2-on-1 after winning a puck battle along the walls. Boqvist retrieved the puck from Maroon and fed Beecher, who promptly beat Ilya Samsonov glove-side on Boston’s first shot on net.

“We talked before the game, just play simple hockey, don’t force anything, get up a little top of circles and try to go to work and go high-low to create some havoc,” Maroon said of his time with Beecher and Boqvist.

Their night of havoc didn’t end there.

The Bruins fed off Maroon’s bruising and vocal presence on a night where each team landed 50 hits.

Beecher had one of his better games in a Bruins uniform. Boqvist remained assertive pursuing the puck in all three zones.

The fourth line’s effective blue-collar approach resonated throughout Boston’s bench.

“Those guys bring a lot of energy,” Carlo said. “We’re thankful for the effort that they come with each and every night and positivity as well.”