By: Jason Cooke | Follow me on X @cookejournalism
David Pastrnak stole the show on Saturday night. Factoring into all five Boston Bruins goals in a 5-1 thumping over the Carolina Hurricanes at TD Garden, Boston’s superstar recorded his 19th career hat trick in front of a jubilant crowd on Causeway Street to lift the struggling Bruins out of a 10-game slide.
But hidden beyond Pastrnak’s mastery lies something perhaps even more important for the Bruins. Jeremy Swayman, the club’s franchise netminder for the foreseeable future, registered his first win following seven straight losses between the pipes to quarterback Boston to victory.
Swayman was equally as impressive as Pastrnak, stopping 39 shots. If it hadn’t been for a late goal by Justin Robidas with under a minute left in the third, Swayman would have achieved his 100th career win with a shutout. Nonetheless, Boston’s goaltender came to play on Saturday night, delivering an outing that can be building material as the season ends.
Bruins interim head coach Joe Sacco said after the game that Swayman was outstanding and “bailed us out a number of times.” Swayman, sporting a 0.895 save percentage in 55 games this season, has been shaky, to say the least, and certainly not what the Bruins were hoping for when Boston’s top brass inked him to a $66 million contract extension. But Sacco praised Swayman’s consistent preparation throughout an up-and-down season and said it was about time the results went his way.
“He’s played well the last few games,” Sacco said. “I find that the last few games he’s really starting to get into a rhythm. He’s been battling — I’ve said this, too, before — his preparation never wavers. He’s always working hard.”
As the results weren’t going his way, Swayman has slowly been building some solid starts amid the losing streak. He stopped 28 shots in the team’s recent loss to the Montreal Canadiens and 28 in the loss to the Washington Capitals. But Boston fell one goal short against Washington and could only pot one tally in Montreal.
To preface, a season where Swayman has also posted a 3.08 goals-against average shouldn’t be pinned solely on his performance. He’s played in front of a depleted defensive unit all season long, highlighted by the long-term losses of Charlie McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm — not to mention the recent deadline subtraction of Brandon Carlo.
But at the same time, a lot of his starts haven’t been particularly pretty, either. He allowed eight goals against the Winnipeg Jets on Dec. 10 and seven goals at the hands of the Los Angeles Kings on March 23 and the Dallas Stars on Nov. 14. Last season, the most goals he allowed in a contest was six — and it happened just once.
It makes a start like Saturday’s mean that much more for Swayman, especially on a night when Boston was officially eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs. It’s been an ugly season for most players to sport the spoked B, not only Swayman, and any confidence he can muster from now until the final game of the season will only help him in the offseason and into next fall when the Bruins will hope to get back to winning hockey as their retool progresses.
After Saturday’s game, Swayman expressed how breaking the losing streak was “a big weight released from all of our shoulders,” while stressing how a positive mindset was able to guide the team out of the skid.
“It was so good to see the Garden happy again,” he said. “That’s a feeling that we missed, and it’s addicting.”
To make it even sweeter, Swayman’s 39-save outburst yielded his 100th career win. Swayman accomplished the milestone in 187 games, amassing a cumulative 2.56 goals against average and a 0.911 save percentage in the process.
“Never thought that was possible as a little kid growing up,” Swayman said. “That’s a huge testament to this group that I’ve been a part of for five years now and the guys I’ve played with. They’re brothers to me, and I could not have done it without them and this city and of course my family.”
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