Boston Bruins Roundtable
‘Dream Come True’: Jeremy Swayman Shines In First Series Start
Boston Bruins coach Jim Montgomery will have to decide to either go back with Jeremy Swayman, or give Linus Ullmark a look for Game 2.
‘Dream Come True’: Jeremy Swayman Shines In First Series StartJeremy Swayman led the Boston Bruins onto the ice Saturday night at TD Garden.
The goaltender proceeded to backstop the team with 35 saves in the 5-1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs in his first career playoff start. Swayman was sharp, poised and in the moment. He made a strong case for a Game 2 appearance.
“It’s a great opportunity,” Swayman said Saturday. “I’m just really happy with the result.”
It was the question of the week: who will Montgomery start in net? Followed by: will there be a rotation thereafter?
“We felt that Swayman hadn’t had the opportunity to start a series before in the last couple of years,” Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said Saturday. “We wanted to see him start a series to see how he’d handle it – and he did really well.”
Boston’s goaltending tandem – between Swayman and Linus Ullmark – is responsible for a bulk of the group’s regular-season success. It’s how the Bruins know how to win. But, you’d be hard-pressed to find another team in the playoffs switch netminders after a fool-proof performance like Swayman put on Saturday.
The 25 year old posted a 3-0-0 record and .959 save percentage against Toronto ahead of the postseason, and the dominance didn’t stop in Game 1.
“It’s going to be hard to go away from ‘Sway.’ He played a terrific game…But if we decide to go with Ullmark, we’re comfortable with it and our team’s comfortable with it,” Montgomery said.
Ullmark – who has a 2.57 goals against average and .915 SV% through 40 games – was arguably the better goalie in the final stretch of the regular season, but Swayman evidently held the overall edge. That said, there’s little discrepancy between the two’s stats and compete level.
In the 2022-2023 first round against the Florida Panthers, Ullmark started in six games before Swayman was thrown in for Game 7 with the Bruins’ season on the line. It was a tough draw. Now, Swayman has proven his ability on the heightened stage, and Montgomery’s tasked with deciding if he wants to give it a chance to carry over in back-to-back games.
Asked who was going to get the nod for Game 2, Montgomery said, “I haven’t thought that far ahead.”
Some of Swayman’s best work came at the beginning of the second period. The Bruins led 1-0 thanks to Johnny Beecher’s first-period tally, but had a 4-on-3 to kill off at the top of the middle frame after Hampus Lindholm was tossed for cross-checking at the 20-minute mark of the first. Charlie McAvoy and Max Domi were already sitting for roughing.
Swayman made six saves in the opening 2:14 of the second, protecting Boston’s advantage before Brandon Carlo made it 2-0 at 5:47. Jake DeBrusk followed Carlo’s goal with two power-play tucks, and Trent Frederic iced the win with an empty-netter in the third.
As expected, the Bruins’ goaltending played a pivotal role in the victory. The win is what Swayman set out to capture, but the moment as a whole held greater meaning for him – and his younger self. He used to dream about playing in a game like Saturday's.
“It’s such a privilege to play in this league and for this city. Taking that first lap and hearing the fans, seeing the towels – it’s a pretty emotional feeling,” Swayman said. “You just understand how hard it is to get here, and what a great opportunity it was. I couldn’t wipe that smile off my face the whole night. Pretty spectacular.”
Game 2 is set for Tuesday at TD Garden with a 7 p.m. puck drop. Boston could have worse problems than choosing between two elite netminders, but Swayman’s Saturday showing has made it that much more difficult.