BEDFORD — The Boston Bruins are getting some of the finest goaltending in the Stanley Cup playoffs and all they have to show for it is a Game 7 showdown against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night (8) at the TD Garden.

The Maple Leafs trailed the series 3-1 but staved off elimination with a 2-1 victory in overtime in Game 5 on Tuesday night at the TD Garden. Toronto evened the series 3-3 with a 2-1 victory on Thursday night at Scotiabank Arena.

Bruins’ goaltender Jeremy Swayman was outstanding in both losses and he, along with Linus Ulmark, have combined for the highest save percentage in the playoffs. The Bruins top the charts with a .940 save percentage, slightly ahead of the New York Rangers (.931), who swept the Washington Capitals in their opening round series.

“Both goalies have (played well), but especially Swayman because he has played the majority of the games and has been tremendous,” said Montgomery, after the team’s arrival on Friday afternoon at Hanscom Field.

“We need everybody to be more like Jeremy Swayman. He’s in the moment, he’s owned the moment and he is relishing being a difference maker.”

The Rangers and the Bruins flip flop in goals against average. The Rangers lead the way with a 1.75 goals against average in four games while the Bruins are second at 1.82 in six matches.

With good goaltending typically the defining barometer of playoff success, the Bruins should be in a better place than coming home for a Game 7 with all the momentum favoring the rejuvenated Maple Leafs.

Montgomery did not disclose any lineup changes for Game 7 but he indicated Swayman deserved to make his sixth start against the Maple Leafs.

“When you get an opportunity to play in a Game 7 whether you are a Celtics fans or a Red Sox fan, you think about the opportunity to play in a Game 7 and be a difference maker,” said Montgomery. “I’m getting goose bumps right now just talking about him (Swayman) and that is the attitude we have to have.”

The Maple Leafs’ resurgence is also based on exceptional goaltending but from a surprising source. Toronto backup Joseph Wall supplanted starter Ilya Samsonov in Game 4 and was lights out in the next two starts.

Woll leads all playoff goalies with 0.86 goals against average, followed by Swayman at 1.60. Woll tops the leaderboard with a .964 save percentage, followed by Swayman at .947. In four starts, Samsonov registered a 3.31 goals against average and a .883 save percentage.

The Bruins have been analyzing Woll over two straight starts, searching for flaws in his mechanics and determining the best ways to break him down. The Maple Leafs have provided a force field for Woll, packing it down between the circles and the low slot, making it harder for the Bruins to get pucks through the congestion.

“We have to get bodies in front of the net and if you ask any goalie, no goalie likes traffic,” said Bruins’ center Charlie Coyle. “We have to get traffic there and they are doing a good in front of him and he is playing great.

“To their credit, they are playing well in front of him packing it in and making it tough to get shots through. We have to spread them out somehow and find ways to do that and get to the net. We need to fight for our space in there and work for that and get to the net.

“It’s the same old simple cliché that we say, but that’s how you do it with second and third and fourth efforts. That’s the mindset you have to have when a goalie is playing well. You get traffic in front of him and take away his eyes and good things will happen when you go to the net.”

Winning draws

The Bruins’ deficiencies in the faceoff circle in Game 6 were emblematic of their problems in this decisive area throughout the series.

The Bruins won 20-of-54 for a 37% success rate and 14-of-48 (31%) at even strength. Coyle was the only Bruins player with a positive ratio, winning 8-of-15. Pavel Zacha won just 1-of-10.

The Maple Leafs won 34-of-54 for a 63% success rate and 33-of-48 (69%) at even strength. Topping the Leafs was center John Tavares, who won 15-of-23, with David Kampf and Mitch Marner winning seven apiece.

“We can always be better there and it starts with the centermen,” said Coyle. “You have your wingers there to help, too, and that’s the first battle of any shift.

“We have to take a little more initiative to win those and fight for those and tie up if we have to. It’s all five guys out there at that point but the centermen have to take ownership there and really battle. They do a good job of that in their faceoffs and that is one area we can definitely get better.”

Motivating Pasta

Montgomery called out right wing David Pastrnak after Game 6 for not producing on the ice. Pastrnak logged 19:58 minutes and 29 shifts, the most by a Bruins forward, and came away with three shots, six hits and a penalty.

“I talked to him right after the game about it and I talked to him about it during the game,” said Montgomery. “Pasta and I have a real healthy communicative relationship and he’s ready to go.”

Biglaw firms must be really eager to “pahk the car in Hahvahd Yahd,” because there’s currently a rush on opening new offices in Boston. In a little more than a week, three Am Law 100 firms have announced their plans for new Boston locations, and one firm even initiated a massive group lateral move to get a Boston legal team in place. We’re got more than a feeling that this is a trend in the making.

Simpson Thacher will open its Boston office “later this year,” and Kenneth Burdon, a registered funds partner from Skadden, will help the firm throw open its doors. Nathan Somogie, an STB partner in New York, will also head to Massachusetts to assist. As noted by the American Lawyer, the firm plans to advise clients in asset management and other financial institutions, health care, biotechnology, life sciences, and technology on their transactional, disputes, regulatory, and enforcement needs.

Paul Hastings is also planning to open up shop in Beantown through the hiring of Sidley Austin private equity co-leader, Alexander Temel. Joining him will be Sidley private equity partner William Schwab. “[W]e believe Boston provides fertile ground in private equity, life sciences, funds formation, litigation, capital markets, and other areas that are synergistic across many of our strengths,” Paul Hastings chair Frank Lopez said of the firm’s expansion.

Last, but certainly not least, Blank Rome recently picked off a 25-lawyer team of corporate and cannabis lawyers from Burns & Levinson to get its footprint in Boston, making it the firm’s 16th office. “We have considered adding a cannabis industry team for a number of years,” said Grant Palmer, Blank Rome’s chair and managing partner. “We have clients who have invested in the cannabis industry or provide services in the cannabis space… We’ve been looking at Boston for some time because we have a number of clients there.”

Back in 2023, three Biglaw firms — Covington & Burling, Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer, and Akin Gump — all opened offices in Boston. Now, three more Biglaw firms will be joining them. Who will be next? If you’ve got any information on which firms will be the next in the rush to become Massholes, please let us know.

Simpson Thacher Plans Boston Office, Hires Skadden Funds Partner [American Lawyer]
Paul Hastings Lands Co-Leader of Sidley’s PE Practice in 2-Partner Move [American Lawyer]
Blank Rome Recruits 25 Burns & Levinson Lawyers to Launch Boston Office [American Lawyer]

Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on X/Twitter and Threads or connect with her on LinkedIn.