Boston knows all about the importance of having solid goaltending when it comes to winning Lord Stanley's Cup. Both Tim Thomas and Tuukka Rask has unreal postseason runs when the B's last lifted the cup.
But this season, the Bruins are sailing into uncharted waters. Linus Ullmark (19-9-2) played his entire six-year NHL career with the Buffalo Sabres before joining Boston in the off-season. In each of those campaigns, he failed to reach the playoffs.
As for rookie Jeremy Swayman (18-8-3), it goes without saying that he has never started an NHL postseason game either. However, Swayman has shown with his recent hot play that he can handle what the NHL throws at him.
Swayman has been lights out for the B's; he has a 2.09 goals against average, a .925% save percentage and three shutouts in 30 games played.
Despite both goaltenders having such a lack of experience in the playoffs, Bruins GM Don Sweeney said it does not intimidate him whatsoever.
"You've got two goaltenders that are going into the stretch run and the playoffs for the first time," Sweeney said. "Let's just saddle up."
Let's hope the Bruins gamble of not trading for another goaltender pays off in the near future!