Bruins Notebook: True No. 1 goalie yet to be determined

There will be more of a “sing-for-your-supper” aspect to how the Bruins split their goaltending duties this season.

For the last couple of years, Bruce Cassidy and his goalie coach Bob Essensa pretty much knew how the netminder playing time would break down. With veterans Tuukka Rask and Jaroslav Halak, the B’s had a 1A-1B plan with Rask getting the slim majority of the starts while Halak got enough playing time to keep the one-time Vezina Trophy winner fresh for the playoffs.

But the B’s don’t have a set-in-stone situation with their goalies this year. The next game Jeremy Swayman plays will be just his 20th professional contest while the 28-year-old Linus Ullmark, though he has 117 NHL games under his belt, is new to the organization after signing a four-year, $20 million deal.

To a certain extent, the goalie split is yet to be determined.

“Less so than other years because there was a defined No. 1 in Tuukka. So we would schedule his 50 to 54-ish the last couple of years and we’d go through the whole calendar. I’m not sure we would do that this year. I think it will be more month to month, performance-driven” said Cassidy on Monday. “Ullmark’s been in the league, so we’ll have to make sure we’re true to giving him time to getting his game to where it needs to be, so Bob will deal with that on a regular basis. Swayman, we know what he can do in a small sample size, so he’ll get the net and continue to get it if he earns it. So it’s not determined that one will definitely be the No. 1 or not. So I think there’s more competition that there ever has been, but Ullmark is a veteran in this league and we’ve got to be mindful of that and make sure he gets the necessary reps, too.”

Ullmark will don the Bruin uniform for the first time on Tuesday when the B’s take on the Rangers at Madison Square Garden while Kyle Keyser will be the second goalie. In his first start at Washington on Sunday, Swayman got better as the game went on, making terrific saves on Lars Eller and a Conor Sheary breakaway after allowing an early goal. The Alaskan stopped 18-of-19 shots before handing the baton to Troy Grosenick.

“He had some rebound issues early on. The first goal was a good example of that, and a couple others. But he battled in there to make saves after that with the rebounds,” said Cassidy. “I think that’s very normal. You could practice all summer in the captain’s practices or on your own and work on your technique and reflexes, but it’s tough to replicate true traffic in front of the net, all those screen shots. I think a lot of goalies go through that early on to get their timing down on those and fight to see pucks. I’d imagine that’s the toughest thing for them, and stuff around both posts, freezing pucks and staying loose so you can grab onto those. That’s something you won’t see ether until the season starts.”

There’s still a chance that Rask, rehabbing from hip surgery, could be added to the mix.

Lysell earns a second look

While the Bruins sent a couple of youngsters back to their junior teams over the weekend – Ryan Mast to Sarnia and Noah Dorey to Kelowna – first-round draft pick Fabian Lysell earned another game after his solid performance in Washington. Cassidy said he’ll “most likely” play Tuesday against the Rangers.

“I thought he did certainly enough to merit that and get another look at him early,” said Cassidy. “He seemed to be not at all affected by playing in that environment. It’ll be another tough one in New York, it looks like they want to change the way they play a little bit. To be a young guy and go in and play your game is probably a testament to his character and willingness to compete.”

GM Don Sweeney has said that Lysell will most likely play for the Vancouver Giants of the Western Hockey League.

Coyle a full-go

On the fifth day of training camp, Charlie Coyle shed his red non-contact jersey and centered a line with Cameron Hughes and Nick Foligno. He’s expected at some point to center Taylor Hall and Craig Smith, who were still being centered by Jack Studnicka on Monday.

“I’m looking forward to every opportunity out there, as everyone is, no matter who I’m playing with,” said Coyle. “I want to play the best I can. Because I know I’m better, and I want to be better and that’s what the team needs from me. But those are two great guys and you’re not going to complain playing with them. But whoever it is, I’ll be ready to go. And my game’s not going to change.”

Coyle had a down year last season, posting 6-10-16 totals in 51 games. After the season it was revealed he underwent knee surgery to repair an avulsion fracture and small tear in the patellar tendon of his left knee. But he did not want to gauge how much he was limited last year because of the injury.

“Everyone’s playing through something, so I’m not going to sit here and say ‘I couldn’t do this or that,’” he said. “If you’re out there playing, then there’s no excuses. You’ve got to get the job done and you’ve got to play well. That’s how it is. If you’re playing 100 percent, then you’re probably not playing well out there. Everyone’s going through something and you just have to work and make it happen.”…

The Capitals’ Dylan McIlrath had a hearing for his head shot on B’s forward Steven Fogarty on Sunday for which he received a five-minute major and the boot.

Fogarty did not return to the game and did not practice on Monday.

“I think he’s going to miss a little bit of time,” said Cassidy.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/3zPB8jk