The Boston Bruins have had the number of the Toronto Maple Leafs for most of the 2023-24 season. This trend continued on Saturday in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Jeremy Swayman backstopped Boston as they claimed a 5-1 win. In Game 2, though, coach Jim Montgomery went with Linus Ullmark in net. And the Maple Leafs finally broke through.
The Maple Leafs won Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs on Monday night. Toronto received their winning goal from their best goal scorer. Auston Matthews scored his first goal of the postseason to put the nail in the Bruins coffin. After the game, Montgomery stood by his decision to start Ullmark.
“No second guesses,” Montgomery said, via Boston.com “He was terrific. He made multiple big-time saves and it’s a strength of our team. Both of them played really well. We only scored two goals.”
Linus Ullmark reacts to Game 2
Linus Ullmark certainly didn't play terribly against the Maple Leafs. And for Jim Montgomery, he is in a unique situation in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. He has two starting-caliber goaltenders to consider. He has to ensure they both have quality game time to keep them happy. It's understandable that the Bruins coach wanted to see what Ullmark could do.
Ullmark held up his end of the bargain. He allowed three goals to Toronto on Monday. However, he also made 30 saves in the contest. He kept Boston in the game and gave them a chance to take over. Unfortunately, Boston could not get another puck past Ilya Samsonov, who made 27 saves on 29 shots.
Ullmark provided his thoughts to the media after Game 2. He mentioned there being good and bad aspects to what transpired during the contest. The Bruins netminder will take a close look at the game video and see where he can improve for his next start.
“There’s some good and bad things,” Ullmark said of his play, via Boston.com. “Obviously there’s some things that I gotta clean up as well. I have to look at it, as I always say — always gotta look at it afterwards, see where the errors are.”
Bruins prepare for Maple Leafs crowd
Now that Game 2 is over, this Stanley Cup Playoffs series is moving to Toronto. The Maple Leafs host Games 3 and 4, and that gives them quite the home-ice advantage. Toronto fans are fanatic in their support for the team, and they can get incredibly loud, especially during the playoffs.
The Bruins are very comfortable playing away from home. During the regular season, Boston played to a 23-9-9 record on the road. This includes two wins in Toronto — a 4-3 overtime win in December and a 4-1 victory in early March. Of course, the playoff atmosphere is going to be vastly different on Wednesday.
Linus Ullmark and the Bruins are not concerned with that, though. And they aren't going to swell on the loss in Game 2. Ullmark knows Boston is not out of the Stanley Cup Playoffs yet. It's time for his team to collect themselves and get back at it in Game 3.
“There are some things to clean up, definitely. But it’s a long series,” Ullmark said, via Boston.com. “Now it’s all about recharging. The sun will come up tomorrow as well. We go to Toronto, and then duke it out once again.”
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