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THE GOALIE REPORT
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Following each game in the first round between the Maple Leafs and Bruins, we’ll be providing a quick synopsis of the clubs’ goaltending performances.
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A look at how each netminder fared in the Bruins’ 3-1 win in Game 4:
Jeremy Swayman, Bruins
24/25 saves, .960 save percentage
It wasn’t Swayman’s turn to start, but Bruins coach Jim Montgomery happily bucked the trend of rotating Swayman and Linus Ullmark.
Part of Swayman’s impact comes in giving his team a chance to settle in during each game. In his three starts in the series, all wins, Swayman has not allowed a goal in the first period. He wasn’t overly busy in the first period on Saturday, needing to make just seven saves, but helped build confidence just the same.
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About the only question going into the third period with the Bruins up 3-0 was whether Swayman would record a shutout. The Leafs finally got to him when Mitch Marner scored at 5:43, but that was it.
Will Montgomery keep Swayman in net to start Game 5 on Tuesday?
“I don’t know,” Montgomery said after the Bruins’ victory on Saturday. “We will find out on Tuesday.”
Ilya Samsonov, Maple Leafs
14/17 saves, .824 save percentage
Joseph Woll, Maple Leafs
5/5 saves, 1.000 save percentage
When Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe pulled Samsonov after the second period and used Woll in the third, it wasn’t necessarily a comment on Samsonov’s play.
Yes, the Bruins didn’t need many opportunities to score three goals for an insurmountable lead, but none of the three could be pinned on Samsonov.
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James van Riemsdyk made a veteran move to his backhand to score the first goal, a chance that came because of a Ryan Reaves turnover. There was no penalty-killing structure on Brad Marchand’s one-timer for a power-play goal midway through the second period.
On the third goal, few NHL goalies will stop Marchand and David Pastrnak on a 2-on-0. The quickly evolving rush came off more puck bumbling by the Leafs in front of Samsonov.
Woll’s sample size in considering him to potentially start Game 5 is awfully small, and he was not great in the final stage of the regular season.
We’ll have to see how it plays out, but Keefe going back to Samsonov to start the win-or-go-home game on Tuesday would not be a surprise.
X: @koshtorontosun
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