By: Chad Jones | Follow me on Twitter/X @ShutUpChadJones
Boston Bruins fans were fixated on Jeremy Swayman during this training camp and preseason. It is well documented how the netminder struggled last year after signing an eight-year extension and becoming Boston’s solidified number one goaltender.
Last season, Swayman posted a save percentage of under .900 and a goals against average above three after missing the entirety of training camp and the preseason. While many fanbases around the league are usually not overly concerned with their starting goalies’ preseason statistics, Bruins fans watched Swayman with great interest during these warm-up contests.
Of Boston’s six preseason matchups, Bruins Head Coach Marco Sturm started Swayman between the pipes twice. Both of these games took place on TD Garden’s home ice.
In the first start against the Philadelphia Flyers, Swayman needed to shake off the cobwebs. Having not seen game action since last April, mistakes were inevitable. Swayman made a poor stick-handling play right before Philadelphia’s first score. And he allowed a stoppable puck to elude him with under a minute to go in the second period.
With the Bruins allowing far too many goals last season with under a minute remaining in periods, Swayman will have to be better this year at performing for the entire 60 minutes. And he looked ready for the season in the final preseason game Saturday afternoon against the New York Rangers.
After not seeing much action in the initial 20 minutes, the Rangers dictated play for the rest of the way. With many NHL-caliber players in the lineup, Swayman was on his game. He was especially effective making saves with his pads and quickly sliding laterally to deny New York goals.
The lone tally the Rangers potted was late in the third period, when Noah Laba tipped home a six-on-four goal to ensure Swayman did not pitch a shutout. Boston won the game 4-1, and their starting goalie was the biggest reason.
Now that the games will matter starting next week, Swayman needs to take this level of play into the regular season. It is no secret that the Bruins’ roster is not built to consistently put up offensive pinball numbers. For Boston to be successful, they will need great play between the pipes, stout defense, and timely scoring throughout the lineup.
But this team will go as far as Swayman can take them. With a full off-season to not worry about his contract situation and a full camp to get his mind and body ready for the season, he is capable of conducting a bounce-back campaign.
The Bruins will need to weigh on Swayman early on. They will be playing a very condensed schedule, as the league will be taking a break during the Olympics to allow NHL players the opportunity to compete in the tournament. Also, Boston will be ushering in new players who may take time to adjust to their roles and build chemistry.
So, Swayman will have to be locked in at the start of the season. After a thorough training camp and productive preseason, he is the Bruin in most dire need of a bounce-back campaign. Seeing how Swayman performs once the regular season gets underway next week will be fascinating.
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