Bruins, Jeremy Swayman take Game 1 from Maple Leafs, 5-1

BOSTON — If Bruins coach Jim Montgomery was really thinking about going with a straight goalie rotation for the playoffs like he did all season, Jeremy Swayman made a pretty good argument against it Saturday night at TD Garden.

In Game 1 of the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, Swayman (35 saves) was excellent, especially early, and the B’s ran away from the Toronto Maple Leafs in a 5-1 victory.

Montgomery’s goaltending decision for Game 2 will be interesting. Swayman was not only tremendous on Saturday, he’s now 4-0 against the Leafs this season. It was his first chance to start a Game 1, and he drank in the moment, beaming through the national anthem.

“Dream come true,” Swayman said. "It’s such a privilege to play in this league and for this city. Taking that first lap and seeing the fans wave the towels, it was pretty emotional feeling. You just understand how hard it is to get here and what a great opportunity it is, so I couldn’t wipe that smile off my face the whole night. Pretty spectacular.”

So was his performance.

The B’s got a pair of power-play goals from Jake DeBrusk after rookie John Beecher and defenseman Brandon Carlo staked the B’s to a 2-0 lead.

Much like the last regular-season game between the teams, it seemed like the Leafs (who were missing 40-goal scorer William Nylander with an undisclosed injury) wanted to flex their muscles, but all they did was take some bad penalties that cost them.

The B’s were skittish in the opening moments of the game, turning the puck over in their own end for the first couple shifts. But Swayman was sharp turning away all four shots, including at least one high-danger chance.

But it didn’t take long for the B’s to find their footing and take the first lead of the game. Pat Maroon occupied two Leafs along the left wing wall in the Boston zone, allowing Jesper Boqvist to break out on a 2-on-1 with Beecher. From his off wing, Boqvist made a perfectly timed pass to Beecher, who beat Ilya Samsonov to the far side to ignite the already charged Garden crowd at 2:26.

“I blacked out a little bit,” said Beecher of the immediate euphoria. “I was in the corner and hit the glass and screaming and the boys were all jumping on me. It was one I’ll never forget.”

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