Jeremy Swayman’s resurgence a sliver of optimism for Bruins team trying to right ship
"The last couple games, he's been playing out of his mind."
Jeremy Swayman didn’t want to hear any talk on Saturday about stealing a game for the Bruins.
“Team game, every time,” Swayman told reporters in Florida following Boston’s 4-3 overtime win over the Panthers. “The attention to detail in our D zone, even the neutral zone, we didn’t have as many turnovers. And just obviously getting it done in the offensive zone.
“It’s all three zones of the ice we’re taking care of tonight. And my guys are doing a great job of letting me see the first shot, clearing out rebounds, and blocking shots as well. So that’s all momentum for us moving forward, and it’s really good to see us get the result.”
Swayman might have shirked at the thought of taking the credit for Boston’s first victory since Dec. 28.
But it’s hard to ignore the stats when it comes to Swayman’s role in snapping his team’s miserable six-game losing streak.
Even if the Panthers lit the lamp three times against Swayman at Amerant Bank Arena, it could have easily devolved into another lopsided loss for Boston — given the suffocating barrage of shots that Florida generated.
Not only did Florida hold a commanding 43-18 edge in shots on goal Saturday, the reigning Stanley Cup Championships finished with an absurd 111-39 advantage in overall shot attempts.
As noted by Ty Anderson of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Saturday marked the first time since Natural Stat Trick began tracking data in 2007 that the Bruins have relinquished 100-plus shot attempts in a regular-season game.
Add in the 25 high-danger scoring chances that Florida generated, and the Bruins are lucky that only three pucks sailed past Swayman on Saturday.
According to MoneyPuck, Swayman finished with a goals saved above expected rate of 3.03 — turning what should have been a seventh-straight loss into a nail-biting overtime victory for Boston.
“He was the difference in the game, right? Goalie played very well tonight,” interim head coach Joe Sacco said. “And that’s what you need sometimes when you’re going through a situation like we are. They played well. We had outstanding goaltending today, and that was the difference in the game.”
The Bruins still have a ways to go when it comes to righting the ship amid what has been an extended slip since the new year. But Swayman has started to turn the corner amid what was a pedestrian start for Boston’s newly anointed No. 1 netminder.
Even if the 26-year-old goalie’s baseline numbers don’t exactly stand out (14-15-3, .895 save percentage), he is sporting a .919 save percentage over his last seven games.
Once saddled with the worst goals saved above expected rate among qualified goalies (-11.5) in late December, Swayman is slowly clawing his way out of that hole — with his -2.8 rate now 65th amongst that pool of 90 netminders.
It hasn’t been the cleanest season for Swayman, to put it lightly. But he has started to look a bit more like the dominant netminder who the Bruins eventually handed a hefty new contract in September.
“He’s always been like that,” Oliver Wahlstrom said of Swayman’s strong play. “I mean, the last couple games, he’s been playing out of his mind.
And it’s on us to play a little better in front of him. And think it’s starting to come. I think he’s a world class goalie, and all of us need to start, you know, playing better for him. And, you know, putting the puck in the net.”
Even an extended heater between the pipes from Swayman will not be enough for the Bruins to completely negate the extended slide they’ve been in.
Over these last seven games where Swayman has elevated his play, Swayman only has two wins — with Boston’s scoring struggles giving him a slim margin for error.
But in a season where the Bruins have seemingly had little go there way, two of their top players in Swayman and David Pastrnak (six goals in his last five games) are showing signs of waking up.
“It’s just like any game — no matter what time you’re getting scored on or making a big save, it’s one shift at a time, and you have to keep that focus,” Swayman said of Boston staying focused after giving up a last-second goal in regulation to Florida. “And I thought our group did a good job, even going to the bench after — it didn’t feel deflated. It felt like a challenge mindset, and that’s exactly what we did and and it worked out for us.”
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