Identified for his or her postgame hugs of each other, the goaltending tandem of Jeremy Swayman and Linus Ullmark grew to become probably the greatest within the league over three seasons for the Boston Bruins.
Sadly for the duo, with Swayman’s emergence within the playoffs final season and Ullmark’s pending free company in 2025, Boston sent Ullmark to the Ottawa Senators in June for depth ahead Mark Kastelic, backup goaltender Joonas Korpisalo and a first-round choose in 2024.
Nevertheless, issues have not gone to plan for the Senators (September 11-1) or Bruins (10-9-3) with their beginning netminders this season. Swayman and Ullmark have struggled immensely, every sporting a save share under .890.
Here’s what has gone incorrect for the netminders:
Jeremy Swayman’s holdout
The Bruins, who host the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday evening, determined within the offseason that Swayman can be their full-time starter, however they nonetheless needed to signal the restricted free agent to a brand new contract. Sadly for Boston, that did not come simply. Swayman held out till Oct. 6, two days earlier than the Bruins’ opener in opposition to Florida.
After lacking all of coaching camp and preseason, Swayman struggled in his first regular-season recreation, stopping simply 20 of 24 photographs in a 6-4 win over the Montreal Canadiens.
Swayman’s struggles may very well be attributed to the dearth of preseason video games that will’ve allowed him to ease again into the swing of issues.
Too many video games to deal with?
Though Ullmark received the Vezina Trophy because the league’s greatest goaltender in 2022-23, he solely began 48 video games, the lowest number of games started for a Vezina Trophy winner in a non-shortened season. Within the three seasons Swayman and Ullmark had been teammates with the Briuns, Swayman performed 122 video games and Ullmark 130, a near-even cut up.
After spending three seasons in a tandem, maybe neither goalie was ready for a full-time starter position. Usually, a beginning goaltender performs 50 or extra video games throughout an everyday season. For Ullmark, the 48 video games he began for Boston in 2022-23 had been a profession excessive.
What the analytics say
Along with their poor save percentages, analytics additionally present that Swayman and Ullmark aren’t essentially victims of poor crew protection in entrance of them. Ottawa, which performs subsequent at San Jose on Wednesday, and Boston are fifth and 14th in photographs in opposition to per recreation, respectively.
In terms of goals saved above expected, Swayman is the eighth-worst goalie within the league with a -6.5 mark, whereas Ullmark is tenth worst with -5.7. Ullmark is even worse in five-versus-five conditions, rating final amongst goaltenders with an -8.6 5v5 targets saved above anticipated. Swayman sports activities a -0.9 determine.
Moreover, on the subject of their worth offered to their groups, each Ullmark and Swayman have a detrimental 5v5 Wins Above Alternative, per MoneyPuck. Ullmark’s is a league worst -1.43 whereas Swayman’s is a -0.15.
Can they flip issues round?
With each groups sitting outdoors the playoff image, they’re going to want their netminders to return to kind to make it to the postseason.
Swayman’s November was an enchancment from October, albeit slight (.890 save share to .884 save share in October). On the flip aspect, Ullmark’s has performed worse, going from .904 to simply .864 save share.
Given their play earlier than this season, it is possible that each discover their kind.
Nevertheless, if Swayman and Ullmark do not bounce again quickly, Boston may very well be out of the playoffs for the primary time since 2016, and Ottawa will miss the playoffs for the eighth straight season.
