Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman, left, celebrates with Linus Ullmark after Boston’s 4-1 win over the Sabres on Wednesday in Buffalo, New York. Adrian Kraus/Associated Press
The Bruins are 20-7-6 this season, and both Jeremy Swayman and Linus Ullmark have played a big part in their success.
Swayman played his part in Boston’s 4-1 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday’s night, stopping 26 of 27 shots. Also, the power play went 3 for 3 and the penalty kill was 6 for 6. It was a nice bounce-back win for not only the Bruins, but for Swayman, as well, who surrendered five goals in his last outing against the Winnipeg Jets.
Whether it was the holiday break or getting stuck in an elevator with Bruins center Jakub Lauko on Christmas Day, the last few days clearly did Swayman some good. And his effort didn’t go unnoticed by Charlie Coyle.
“Him and Linus Ullmark have been so huge for us all year. We owe a lot to those guys. So we can’t stop playing for them because they’ve they bailed us out of so many games, kept us in games, won us games,” Coyle, who had two power-play goals in the win, told TNT’s Darren Pang after the game. “It’s great to see him get rewarded for playing as well as he does. You love to see it. It builds confidence, and we have all the confidence when we’re playing in front of those guys just because of the way they play every night.”
Going into Wednesday’s game, Swayman ranked third in the NHL with a 2.17 goals-against average, second with a .929 save percentage and tied for third with two shutouts. Ullmark, the reigning Vezina Trophy winner, boasts a 2.87 GAA and .914 save percentage.
The four-game losing streak was a difficult stretch for the Bruins. It was the first time they lost four straight since the August 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs in the Toronto bubble. And while there was plenty of blame to go around, the goaltending was the least of Boston’s worries during that stretch.
Coach Jim Montgomery wanted a more “concerted effort” from his team, and he certainly got that Wednesday night.
A WEEK AFTER missing a shot in overtime that led to the Wild’s 3-on-1 rush to beat the Bruins in overtime, Jake DeBrusk bounced back with a strong game against the Sabres.
The forward had two assists in Boston’s win. It’s been a frustrating season for DeBrusk, who’s in a contract year, and he’s been in an offensive slump. But after a few days off for the NHL’s holiday break did the 26-year-old some good, and it earned him some high praise from Montgomery.
“I thought Jake was our best forward (Wednesday),” Montgomery told reporters in Buffalo. “His habits. I thought his speed was noticeable in checking, hanging on to pucks, making real good decisions. It makes a big difference when he’s the player we know he can be.”
In the Bruins’ loss to the Wild on Dec. 19, DeBrusk fired a shot wide and Minnesota cashed in on the miscue to earn the overtime win. Montgomery was critical of DeBrusk, saying he didn’t like the shot selection. The following day, Montgomery said DeBrusk still had a “good game,” and could sense the forward’s frustration.
“He had opportunities, literally the 3-on-3 shift before he took a shot from a real good area, and he sailed it just over the crossbar,” Montgomery told reporters Dec. 20. “I could sense his frustration. But, I thought he had a really good game. His speed was very noticeable. He had the other team on their heels. And he was creating opportunities – not only for himself but for his linemates.”
While DeBrusk’s numbers certainly don’t jump off the page this season, his 200-foot game is still strong, he’s been crucial on the penalty kill and, as Montgomery noted, creating scoring chances for his teammates. That was on full display Wednesday when he had a slick feed to a wide-open, net-front Coyle on the power play.
“Any time you win, it helps,” DeBrusk told reporters. “I think that means there’s a lot of things we’re doing right. As a group, obviously, we didn’t like how it ended going into the break. We had a couple days to reset. Good effort (Wednesday), with good goaltending from (Jeremy Swayman), and just rolled with it.”
DeBrusk played 16:19 and had three shots on net. His lack of goals certainly isn’t from lack of effort. But if he can find his groove, it would give DeBrusk and the Bruins a big boost.
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