Don Sweeney speaks ahead of Bruins’ first playoff round

Just days ahead of Boston’s first-round playoff series against the Maple Leafs, Bruins general manager Don Sweeney held a press conference on Thursday that touched on on several subjects, including the goalie rotation between Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman.

Here are four takeaways from Sweeney’s presser. 

A plan in place

While the Bruins’ primary focus in the days leading up to Game 1 on Saturday revolves around crafting a game plan to slow down Auston Matthews and Toronto’s high-powered offense, the top question for most fans is more of an internal conundrum. 

Who will Jim Montgomery turn to in net for Game 1? Or better yet — will the Bruins’ bench boss use both Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman during a best-of-seven series? 

Sweeney didn’t show his hand when asked about Boston’s plans in net for the postseason. 

“I’ll sum it up in the fact that we’re very confident in our goaltending,” Sweeney said. “I think it’s been a strength of our hockey club, certainly for the past two years. The noise that goes on outside is not necessarily filtered as much inside as what people may believe. 

“Because our goalies know what the plan is, they know what their strengths are for our hockey club, and how much we rely on them. Performance and results will dictate some of this, but we know what the plan is going in, and so do they… and we’re comfortable with it.”

The Bruins have reaped the rewards over the last two regular seasons by allocating even reps between Ullmark and Swayman. The last time Montgomery deviated from an even rotation between starts for his goalies was back on Feb. 21. 

Montgomery and the Bruins have a good problem on their hands when it comes to determining which goalie is the best option for Game 1. Ullmark is 6-3-0 with a .935 save percentage since the trade deadline, while Swayman is 4-0-0 with a .961 save percentage during Boston’s current seven-game win streak against Toronto. 

As for whether or not Sweeney wants to disclose the Bruins’ goalie plan?

“That’s not my job,” he said with a smile.

Brazeau still week-to-week, Forbort progressing 

Bruins rookie winger Justin Brazeau was skating ahead of Thursday’s practice at Warrior Ice Arena, but the bottom-six skater is still a ways away from returning to game action. 

“Again, he’s coming back from an injury that… the timeline as we described is to week to week,” Sweeney said. “I still think we’re in that week-to-week phase, so the early part of the series is very unlikely. We’re hopeful, but there’s no guarantees on that one. That one’s going to take some time. He is skating, clearly, but he has some hurdles to get through.”

Brazeau has not played since April 2 after suffering an upper-body injury during Boston’s road win against the Nashville Predators — with the 26-year-old forward appearing to hurt his arm or shoulder after taking a hit from Luke Schenn. 

Brazeau provided a major lift since getting called up from Providence earlier this winter, scoring five goals and two assists over 18 games. If he’s able to return to the lineup later on this postseason, Brazeau’s 6-foot-5 frame should come in handy during board battles.

Sweeney also had an encouraging update on defenseman Derek Forbort, who recently reported to Providence on a long-term injury loan. Back in March, Sweeney signaled that Forbort’s season was likely over due to surgery. But on Thursday, Sweeney acknowledged that the door remains ajar for Forbort to potentially play this postseason. 

“Yeah, that’s a wait and see,” Sweeney said. “I mean, Derek has made great strides, and little bit surprisingly, to tell you the truth, he was on an operating table not too long ago for two different situations. So, good on him and good on the training staff. We still have an undetermined timeline in terms of how he’s going to continue to progress. 

“But it’s certainly a positive sign that he’s made the progress that he has, and credit to Derek to tell you the truth… because he could have just arguably shut things down completely. But he wants to play, he’s a gamer and wants to play, he wants to see whether or not the healing process can continue, and if he becomes a factor at some point in time during the playoffs.”

Scouting the Maple Leafs

It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that Sweeney honed in on Toronto’s high-powered offense as the top concern for Boston going into this best-of-seven series.

“Well, offensively, they’re a gifted hockey club,” Sweeney said. “They present a lot of challenges down around the net front area, and we’re going to have to be really sharp there. We’re a pretty good team defensively when we stick to what our principles are, so I expect it to be a tight series overall. 

“Obviously, their power play is really good, our penalty killing has been pretty consistent throughout the year, our power play needs to come back online here. Fortunately, we scored a goal the other night to hopefully give the guys a little bit of confidence. It’s going to be a really good challenge on all levels.”

A stick tap for Jack Edwards

Sweeney opened Thursday’s press conference with a salute to Bruins longtime play-by-play broadcaster Jack Edwards. Edwards announced ahead of Boston’s regular-season finale that this will be his final season calling Bruins games on NESN. 

“First and foremost, I want to congratulate Jack Edwards,” Sweeney said. “An incredible career calling games in his own unique way but with pride and professionalism. Jack became a hockey icon in the New England market and we want to wish him well with all his bucket list items that he has in his retirement years.”