David Pastrnak, left, and goalie Jeremy Swayman celebrate after Boston’s 3-1 win over the Sharks on Saturday in San Jose, California. Josie Lepe/Associated Press
The competition is not over, stressed Bruins’ Coach Bruce Cassidy. Jeremy Swayman is not yet the confirmed No. 1 goalie.
But the rookie is certainly exhibiting some of those characteristics.
It is not just that he was playing very well going into Saturday’s late game against the Sharks in San Jose. It is also the way he’s handled the potholes that presented themselves, both with his own standard development and how he handled being the odd-man out during Tuukka Rask’s unsuccessful comeback attempt.
Going into the game against the Sharks, the former University of Maine goalie was pushing his way into the top five of goaltending stats across the league among netminders who have played more than 15 games. He’s fifth in save percentage at .927 and fourth in goals against average at 2.09. Swayman made 15 saves in Boston’s 3-1 win over San Jose on Saturday night.
“I think he’s done really well for himself,” said Cassidy. “He’s had a couple of hiccups. He had to deal with a little bit of adversity getting sent down this year when Tuukka came on board and I think he’s handled it all very well. You always worry about that with a young goalie. What happens when you don’t have your A game? Do you press? Do you lose your A game for an extended period of time? Do you get it back? And I think he’s shown that he’s gotten it back. Now he’s got to do that consistently. He’s in a competition for the true No. 1 here with (Linus) Ullmark and he’s probably a little ahead right now. We don’t want to declare anything. But that’s the next phase for him. Can he handle the majority of the starts as a young guy? It might play out that way for him if he continues to play the way he has.”
Swayman’s also shown he responds well to a challenge. In the first game back from the All-Star break, the Bruins were playing a very good game against the Penguins but Swayman wasn’t sharp. He allowed a soft goal to let Pittsburgh tie the game and the Penguins would eventually win it. After the game, Cassidy quite clearly laid the bulk of the loss at his goaltender’s feet.
Some goalies might have been frazzled by that. But since that game, Swayman has gone 3-0-1, stopped 120 of 124 shots and his only blemish was a 2-1 shootout loss which he took to nine rounds before succumbing.
While Cassidy’s honesty can be brutal at times, he’s analysis is just that – honest. In explaining how a goalie gains trust with the Bruins staff and him, Cassidy demonstrated that he clearly likes where Swayman’s game is.
“For us, it’s the eye test first and foremost,” said Cassidy. “You watch him and he’s under control. Some of the issues that were plaguing him earlier in the year – the rebound (control) and maybe getting a little aggressive in spots – I think he’s done a good job with.
“A good example of that is the Ottawa game a couple of weeks ago. They were on the power play and it banked off the post. It looked like an empty netter and he recovered to the same side of the ice and made a really nice save. To be able to not put yourself out of position there after the original shot … those are things we’ve noticed he’s done a better job with, recovering in those scramble mode situations. And I just think he bounces back and is square to the puck in pretty much all his starts. Puck play, we’re still working with him. He’s trying to get more confident in that areas when you communicate with him. I think it’s just that the results have shown he’s a pretty steady, consistent guy. Guys can change, and some of that can be the guys in front of him. We do value keeping the puck out of our net. We’re a good defensive team. The numbers back that up. So I think we’re a goaltender-friendly system and I think he’s excelled in that and it’s been a good fit for him.”
CASSIDY LIKED HOW Jake DeBrusk was first on pucks in the Bruins win over Seattle on Thursday in his first chance to play with Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand. That will have to continue. While many observers believe that anyone could succeed when playing with Bergeorn and Marchand, Cassidy said that’s not necessarily the case.
“If you look at it on the surface, that would be your first thought. How could you not excel with two players of their caliber?” said Cassidy. “But you still have to mesh with them, you still have to read off their plays. You still have to play to their standard every night. But I think when you’re focused and have the ability to keep up with them in terms of the hockey IQ and then legs, then it would be hard (not to succeed). I think any player would want to be put in that situation where they can excel. And hopefully Jake is taking it that way. When we had a discussion, it certainly seemed like that was what he wanted and was willing to embrace. He did the other night (in Seattle). But again, with those guys a big part of that is they see top matchups 82 times a year, so it is an every-night job, an every-night demand for them. So that will be the challenge for whoever is in there and it’s a challenge for Jake.”
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