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The Boston Bruins got off to a tough start against the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers on Tuesday night, but their star netminder helped them get back on track two nights later. Jeremy Swayman made 21 saves on 25 shots as the B's downed the Montreal Canadiens 6-4 at TD Garden on Thursday night.
Although it wasn't Swayman's best performance, it makes sense that he's still shaking off some rust after a drama-filled summer. And the 25-year-old was just happy to be back between the pipes.
“It's such an incredible thing to be back playing and in this building again. It's a boatload of gratitude,” Swayman said after the triumph, according to the Associated Press.
The Anchorage, Alaska native was the first player introduced to the crowd in Boston, and he earned a loud ovation from the Bruins faithful.
“It was pretty emotional, that warm welcome,” Swayman continued. “And it just goes to show what kind of fan base we have here, knowing it's more than just a player, it's a human being that they care about. And I got pretty emotional finally stepping on that ice and hearing that roar again.”
Swayman signed an eight-year, $66 million contract extension to keep him in Massachusetts for the foreseeable future, with pen getting put to paper just two days before the 2024-25 season started.
Thus, it was Joonas Korpisalo between the pipes in a 6-4 loss to the Panthers on Tuesday. But it doesn't look like he'll be getting too many more starts with Swayman back in the fold.
Jeremy Swayman, Bruins back in the win column
Although Swayman wasn't at his best in his first game of the year, he earned some praise from head coach Jim Montgomery afterwards.
“Jeremy Swayman was good,” the bench boss said, while confirming that a couple of the goals against weren't his fault. “He made the saves that he could.”
After backing up Linus Ullmark in 2022-23, the two helped to form the NHL's best tandem in 2023-24. Swayman appeared in 43 regular season games last year, posting a solid 2.53 goals-against average before winning the No. 1 job in the playoffs.
He helped take the Bruins to within two wins of their second Eastern Conference Final appearance in six years; the Bruins lost to the Panthers for the second straight postseason, this time in six games.
Still, Swayman looks focused and ready for the new campaign, putting all of the drama from the past couple of months firmly in the rearview mirror.
“I want to play every game. I want to be in the net every chance I can get. So I'm excited to get that opportunity,” he asserted, per AP. “I've got different tactics of getting myself in the game — obviously being vocal with my guys and chatting with the refs and doing my thing, bringing my swagger, my calmness to the building and I know that's when I play my best.”
Now back in the win column, Swayman and the Bruins will look to make it back-to-back victories when they welcome Anze Kopitar and the Los Angeles Kings to TD Garden on Saturday afternoon.
