Bruins
“That makes me think maybe he’s in their heads a little bit.”
Jeremy Swayman is 5-0-0 against the Maple Leafs this season, including two playoff victories. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)
COMMENT
The stats speak for themselves when it comes to Jeremy Swayman and his dominance against the Maple Leafs this season.
After Boston’s 4-2 win in Game 3 on Wednesday, Swayman is now 5-0-0 against Toronto in 2023-24 – with a .957 save percentage during that stretch.
The Maple Leafs have one of the most feared offenses in the league, ranking second in the regular season with 3.63 goals scored per game. But with Swayman between the pipes, several A-level scoring chances in front of the net and in the low slot fell apart via a timely pad stop and glove snag.
For Jim Montgomery, the most telling sign that the Maple Leafs might grip their stick a little tighter with No. 1 in net might have come during a televised timeout Wednesday.
Whether it was his natural inclination to stir the pot or knock Swayman off his game, Leafs forward Max Domi collided with Swayman as he was coming out of the net – with the Bruins goaltender falling to the frozen sheet.
Ultimately, it didn’t sway the Boston goaltender. But that could have been a harsh indictment of a Maple Leafs team that has yet to land a haymaker on Swayman all season long.
“When Domi comes off the bench and hits him on purpose, that makes me think maybe he’s in their head a little bit,” Montgomery noted Thursday.
The mental tool provided during the Stanley Cup Playoffs is an underrated factor that weighs on every player this time of year. The bumps and bruises that accumulate over the course of a long postseason run sap even the strongest skaters, but there’s something to be said for the advantage that saps a team’s morale when his goalkeeper wears a team number.
So far, Swayman has been instrumental for the Bruins against Toronto. And for that reason alone, the Bruins should break away from their proven Game 4 goalie rotation and keep rolling with Swayman.
“We’re going to have more rest, but both goaltenders said the rotation has been so good for us,” Montgomery said. “So it’s a difficult decision.”
Montgomery and the Bruins would undoubtedly be justified in keeping this rotation intact.
Linus Ullmark – the reigning Vezina Trophy winner – was far from the reason Boston dropped Game 2 on Monday night. It’s safe to say the 3-2 finish would have been even more lopsided in favor of the Leafs without some A-level saves from Ullmark.
The Bruins have now rotated goalies for the last 28 games. Although Swayman was on a hot streak during the playoffs, Ullmark also played at a high level down the stretch – winning six of his final nine regular season games while posting a .935 save percentage.
But come the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Bruins should be able to add a little more flexibility to their rigid goalie rotation when the situation calls for it.
Because right now, Swayman is playing arguably the best hockey of his career — which seems to be a recurring trend every time he faces Original Six foe Boston in Toronto.
“Ultra competitive,” Montgomery said of Swayman. “For example, if anyone is as close to (Brad Marchand) on our team as a competitive fire, it’s him.”
Swayman hasn’t just been locked up in his first two playoff games, he’s been the best goaltender in the Stanley Cup Playoffs — and it hasn’t been particularly close.
According to MoneyPuck, Swayman has already saved 7.8 goals above expectations in two games against Toronto – a byproduct of the numerous opportunities in front of the net and the slot shots he turned away in Games 1 and 3.
Vegas goaltender Logan Thompson ranks second in that same category among playoff goalies – with just 2.4 goals saved above expectations.
“Any chance I get to play, I’m going to do everything I can to help this team win,” Swayman said Wednesday after Boston’s Game 3 win. “Whether it’s two games in a row or any other game, I’m just really grateful for every opportunity I get and that’s all I’m worried about.”
One of the benefits of Boston’s guard rotation has been the appropriate distribution of reps between Ullmark and Swayman – with both guards rarely called upon over the course of 82 games. The Bruins learned the hard way during the last playoffs that Ullmark’s exercise through six consecutive starts pushed an already banged-up goaltender beyond his limits.
But Boston’s schedule benefits the team if it chooses to stick with Swayman in Game 4, given that the Bruins have two days off in Toronto before returning to play Saturday night.
The last time Swayman had two days off between consecutive starts, he followed up a 31-save shutout against New Jersey on Jan. 15 with a 30-save game in a 5-2 win over the Avalanche on January 18.
“I don’t want any rest,” Swayman said after Game 3. “I just want to keep playing. No matter when I get the call, whether it’s a back-to-back or another game, I want to make sure my body is ready and I’m ready to give my best- even.
A slight change in Boston’s guard rotation doesn’t mean Ullmark will suddenly be mired on the bench for the rest of this postseason.
If the Bruins punch their ticket to the next round, they could still get back into the rotation against a team like the Panthers – giving Swayman and Ullmark an opportunity to stake their claim in net against a familiar opponent.
But that’s a question for another day.
In the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the bottom line is “survive and advance.”
And in this series – against this team in particular – Swayman gives Boston its best chance to move on.
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