Bruins coach thinks Swayman in Leafs’ heads
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Kristen Shilton, ESPN NHL reporter
TORONTO — Boston Bruins coach Jim Montgomery thinks goaltender Jeremy Swayman‘s dominance against the Toronto Maple Leafs — before and during their current first-round Stanley Cup playoff series — has started to rattle some players.
Montgomery made that suggestion in reference to an incident late in Boston’s 4-2 victory over the Leafs in Game 3 on Wednesday, when Toronto forward Max Domi appeared to seek out Swayman — owner of a 5-0-0 record versus the Leafs this season — during a TV timeout.
“Normally, I don’t think that [a goalie has one team’s number],” Montgomery said Thursday. “But when Domi goes off the bench and bumps [Swayman] on purpose, makes me think that maybe he’s in their head a little bit.”
Boston forward Trent Frederic — who got the Bruins on the board with a first-period goal in Game 3 — saw the interaction between Domi and Swayman, too. He agreed with Montgomery it might have revealed some mounting exasperation from the Leafs over Swayman’s recent success.
“Maybe Sway is getting in their head; he’s making a lot of saves,” Frederic said. “So, bump our goalies. I don’t know, didn’t work [for them] last night.”
That was ultimately true. Despite any on-ice antics, Swayman downed Toronto once again with a 28-save performance in Game 3 to give Boston a 2-1 series lead. Swayman previously made 35 stops in the Bruins’ 5-1 victory in Game 1, and then was replaced by Linus Ullmark in Game 2 (a 3-2 Bruins loss).
Toronto had better results against Ullmark, but the Leafs still haven’t managed more than three goals in a game so far this postseason. It’s a troubling trend that pre-dates facing Swayman and the Bruins (Toronto’s actually gone 10 consecutive playoff games scoring three or fewer goals) and those struggles have been magnified this time around by their lifeless power play (1-for-11) failing to fire in this series either.
Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe refuted the Bruins’ narrative though that their goaltender was somehow throwing Toronto off its game. In Keefe’s mind, the Domi bump was just part and parcel of this time of year.
“It’s playoff hockey, and things are happening all over the ice,” said Keefe. “With that logic [from Montgomery] you would say every time they bump into one of our guys maybe we’re in their heads”
Keefe also said he sensed “zero frustration” from his team over the low scoring output. The Leafs have generated their chances against Boston, averaging the third-most shots on goal per game in the postseason (33), but they’re also tied for the fewest goals per game (two).
Toronto’s offensive prospects would be helped by the return of forward William Nylander. The Leafs’ 40-goal scorer in the regular season has missed the first three games of their series due to an undisclosed injury. Keefe was asked again on Thursday about Nylander’s mystery ailment and would not confirm reports that the winger is dealing with migraines. Keefe did say the extra day of rest before Game 4 on Saturday does benefit Nylander though, who’s been classified as a game-time decision twice already in the playoffs.
“We’ve been working with Willy to give him the time that he needs to be ready to play,” said Keefe. “And the medical team works with him on a daily basis to see where he’s at and continue to assess that.”
As for who Toronto can expect to see in Boston’s crease for Game 4, that’s another mind game of its own. The Bruins have religiously rotated Swayman and Ullmark for nearly 30 games, dating back to February. Swayman said after Wednesday’s win that for him, “I don’t want rest; I just want to keep playing.”
The final decision will fall to Montgomery, who wasn’t saying whether Boston would stick with Swayman.
“Both goalies have been so good for us,” said Montgomery. “It’s a hard decision.”
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Jorge Castillo, ESPN Staff Writer
The San Diego Padres have acquired second baseman Luis Arraez in a trade with the Miami Marlins for reliever Woo-Suk Go and prospects Dillon Head, Jakob Marsee and Nathan Martorella, the teams announced Saturday.
The Padres also received nearly $7.9 million in cash considerations, leaving them responsible only for the major league minimum salary for Arraez.
The transaction represents the first significant move for the Marlins since Peter Bendix took over as the team’s president of baseball operations in November after Kim Ng departed. It marks the beginning of the Marlins’ teardown of an underachieving roster that has produced the third-worst record in the majors at 9-25 with a minus-61 run differential after reaching the postseason in 2023.
On the other side, it’s another aggressive deal for A.J. Preller, the leader of the Padres’ front office since 2014. Arraez, one of the sport’s best contact hitters, will give the Padres a needed left-handed-hitting weapon after Juan Soto was sent to the New York Yankees in December. San Diego is 17-18 with a plus-6 run differential.
“It’s really amazing — that guy is a baller,” Fernando Tatis Jr. said about Arraez after the Padres’ win Friday night. “He’s probably the closest to Tony Gwynn right now, so looking forward to seeing him in our lineup. … The guy’s a pure hitter, and I can’t wait for him to help us.”
Miami is paying San Diego $7,898,602 of the $8,491,398 remaining for the final 149 days of Arraez’s $10.6 million salary. That left his cost to the Padres at $592,796 — exactly a prorated share of the $740,000 minimum.
Arraez, 27, was the Marlins’ best player, an All-Star and batting champion each of the past two seasons. This season, he is batting .299 with a .719 OPS in 33 games, all started at second base. He also has extensive experience at first base.
“When a guy like that is taken out of the lineup or potentially traded, you feel it, because he’s such a good kid and one of the leaders in that clubhouse,” Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said, “so there’s definitely a shock value.”
Arraez is expected to start games as the Padres’ designated hitter, but the club plans to cycle through the DH spot. Jake Cronenworth, Xander Bogaerts and Manny Machado could also get at-bats there. Bogaerts has been the club’s starting second baseman.
Go spent seven seasons in the Korean Baseball Organization before signing a two-year deal with a mutual option worth $4.5 million guaranteed during the offseason. The 25-year-old right-hander appeared in 10 games for Double-A San Antonio, posting a 4.38 ERA across 12⅓ innings after failing to make the Padres’ bullpen out of spring training.
Head was the Padres’ first-round pick (25th overall) last year out of high school. The 19-year-old center fielder is batting .237 with a .683 OPS and three stolen bases in 21 games in low-Class A.
Martorella is batting .294 with an .820 OPS in 23 games in San Antonio. The Padres selected the 23-year-old first baseman in the fifth round of the 2022 draft. Marsee, a 22-year-old outfielder, has spent the season in San Antonio batting .185 with two home runs. He was a sixth-round pick in 2022 out of Central Michigan.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Jorge Castillo, ESPN Staff Writer
NEW YORK — Yankees ace Gerrit Cole threw off a mound Saturday morning for the first time since being shut down in mid-March, checking off another box in his road back from an elbow injury.
Cole took the mound in the Yankees’ bullpen at 10:40 a.m., hours before New York took on the Detroit Tigers at Yankee Stadium. He said he threw 15 pitches, 13 for strikes and all fastballs. He said the pitches averaged 89 mph.
“It was exciting,” Cole said. “This was a good day for me. I was fired up.”
Cole, 33, started the season on the 60-day injured list after being diagnosed with nerve irritation and edema in his pitching elbow following one spring training outing. The reigning American League Cy Young Award winner is eligible to come off the injured list May 27, but the Yankees have declined to share a timetable for Cole’s return.
On a scale from 1 to 10 — 10 being game ready — Cole reported he is “somewhere between 1 and 5.” He said how his body responds over the next 48 hours will decide when he throws off a mound again.
Cole’s injury was a significant blow to a club with championship-or-bust aspirations, but the Yankees’ starting rotation has been one of the best in the majors and a primary reason for the team’s 21-13 start. The rotation’s 3.43 ERA through Friday ranked ninth in the majors. Its 183⅔ innings pitched ranked fourth.
Luis Gil, Cole’s rotation replacement, logged the best start of his young career Wednesday, holding the explosive Baltimore Orioles scoreless on two hits over a career-high 6⅓ innings. Gil, 25, has recorded a 3.19 ERA in 31 innings across six starts despite leading the American League with 20 walks.
Earlier this week, Yankees manager Aaron Boone said neither the team’s nor the rotation’s success will impact Cole’s timeline. Asked whether the overall success has made his absence more “palatable,” Cole was unsure.
“I don’t really have anything unpalatable to compare it to,” Cole said. “You know what I’m saying? So I’m just kind of like, just like everybody else, just glad we’re playing well.”
Also on Saturday, the Yankees reinstated infielder Jon Berti from the 10-day injured list and designated former first-round pick Taylor Trammell for assignment.
Berti, 34, has been out of the Yankees’ lineup since April 10 with a left groin strain. The Yankees had selected Trammell off waivers from the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 18, and he collected 1 hit, 1 walk and 2 runs in five games with New York.
Field Level Media contributed to this report.
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