TORONTO — Jeremy Swayman’s numbers are one thing. They are very good against the Toronto Maple Leafs this season. Perfect, in fact, when it comes to wins.
The eye test is another.
Through two first-round starts, both victories, Swayman has been faster than Superman. The Boston Bruins goalie’s explosions toward first shots and blink-of-an-eye recoveries for follow-up flurries have made the Leafs’ best chances die on the vine.
“I just love his compete level and his quickness,” coach Jim Montgomery said after Wednesday’s 4-2 Game 3 win. “When it went 3-2, right after that, there was a barrage of rebounds. If I’m remembering correctly, (Tyler) Bertuzzi had two of the chances. But there were two more, it seemed like. He was just square to the puck, fighting, finds it. It inspires our team.”
Add the numbers and the eye test toward one airtight conclusion: Swayman has to start Game 4.
“I don’t want rest,” Swayman said with a smile after Game 3. “I just want to keep playing. No matter when I get the call, whether it’s back-to-back or every other game, I want to make sure my body is ready and I’m ready to perform at my best.”
The Bruins started Round 1 by continuing their signature goalie rotation. It was the right move. Alternating Swayman and Linus Ullmark has been central to the Bruins’ DNA.
The rotation’s roots first sprouted in 1993, when Montgomery was a 23-year-old senior at the University of Maine. Central to the Black Bears’ NCAA title was coach Shawn Walsh’s insistence on going back and forth between Garth Snow and Mike Dunham, right down to the championship game against Lake Superior State.
It left a mark.
“It was a huge part,” said Montgomery of the rotation’s identity within his college club. “They both should have been All-Americans. Only (Dunham) was an All-American. They were the two best goalies for me in the country.”
Thirty-one years later, Montgomery can make the case that mimicking the process with Swayman and Ullmark gave him two goalies who stand among the NHL’s elite. Going back and forth has optimized each for every start in terms of preparation, recovery and mental peace of mind.
But before the series, general manager Don Sweeney declared that performance and results will influence whether the Bruins continue or deviate from their blueprint. Swayman’s 2023-24 play against the Leafs is leaving them with little choice.
Swayman has a .955 save percentage in Round 1. No other postseason goalie has done better. According to MoneyPuck, Swayman has saved 7.8 goals above expectation. It is easily best in show:
Stack this on Swayman’s regular-season dominance of the Leafs: three wins in three starts, .959 save percentage.
As the sample size expands, Swayman’s head-to-head performance stays the same: elite.
There’s one more thing. Game 4 is on Saturday at 8 p.m., an hour later than usual.
Swayman and the Bruins spent Thursday resting at their Toronto hotel. He will go on the Scotiabank Arena ice on Friday for touchup work. The downtime between Games 3 and 4 will be enough time for Swayman to catch his breath and be at his best again.
“We’re going to have more rest,” Montgomery answered when asked how the two off days would influence his Game 4 decision. “But both goalies … the rotation’s been so good for us. It’s a hard decision.”
Swayman was not at his best the last time he made consecutive starts. On Feb. 21, one game after stopping 43 shots in a 4-3 shootout win over the Dallas Stars, he let in five goals in a 6-5 overtime decision over the Edmonton Oilers. Rebound control was an issue.
But it was only two days after the win against Dallas, which was at TD Garden. The Bruins had to travel from Boston to Edmonton. This time, Swayman would have three days between starts and no travel.
Swayman was fine the last time this happened. On Jan. 15, he made 31 saves in a 3-0 shutout against the New Jersey Devils at home. Three days later, he stopped 30 of 32 shots in a 5-2 win at the Garden over the Colorado Avalanche.
And this time around, Swayman is doing his thing against the same opponent. He has become a ghoul for the Leafs, practically impossible to solve.
Like every team, the Leafs know that Swayman has a temper. He showed it earlier this year when he stared down Joseph Woll. Swayman’s Toronto counterpart wasn’t interested in reciprocating.
Swayman was waiting at center ice to challenge Woll to a fight 😳😅 pic.twitter.com/T0tEk6Xcwe
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) March 8, 2024
“Ultra competitive,” Montgomery said of his goalie. “If anyone’s close to (Brad Marchand) on our team as competitive fire, it’s him.”
Riling up Swayman may be why Max Domi gave him a jolt during a TV timeout. Swayman hit the deck — with flair, at that. But he did not get in Domi’s face. He left that to Pat Maroon.
Max Domi skates into Jeremy Swayman and Pat Maroon is not pleased. pic.twitter.com/gljd3XDhnR
— Conor Ryan (@ConorRyan_93) April 25, 2024
“When Domi goes off the bench and bumps him on purpose,” said Montgomery, “makes me think that maybe he’s in their head a little bit.”
The Bruins didn’t like Domi’s sideswipe. Goalies are usually off limits when it comes to contact. But the last thing the Bruins want to do is retaliate.
“Those are things that, in the game, you don’t really want to allow to happen,” Brandon Carlo said. “You could see it right away on the bench from Patty Maroon. I didn’t see it. But he was making sure everybody had known that Domi had done that. From there, you just try and get your licks back throughout the game as opportunity arises in different scenarios.”
Ullmark was very good in Game 2. He was not the reason the Bruins lost.
But there is something to be said about winning. It’s all Swayman has done against the Leafs. Perhaps that continues Saturday.
(Photo of Jeremy Swayman making a save on Calle Jarnkrok: John E. Sokolowski / USA Today)
