BOSTON — Through the ups and downs of their first-round playoff series, with all of the requisite changes in momentum, one thing was a constant for the Bruins: the superb play of goaltender Jeremy Swayman.
Even as the Bruins’ offense sputtered in Games 5 and 6, with the team managed to score just three goals combined, Swayman’s play in net never faltered.
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In Saturday’s Game 7 at TD Garden, he yielded just one goal on 31 shots to the Toronto Maple Leafs, buying time for his teammates to eventually net the series-winning goal in overtime.
“He was our best player in the series and it’s not close,” said head coach Jim Montgomery. “I think that his confidence and his swagger permeated through the group. It took a while, but we got there.”
Swayman, who played in every game but Game 2, compiled a sterling 1.60 goals against average while recording a .950 save percentage. He was resolute in net.
“Personally, there was no doubt in him,” said David Pastrnak, who netted the game-winner. “From the group, there was a lot of belief. I’m proud of him, the way he bounced back. In every single game of the series, he gave us a chance to win. It was the same way with Linus (Ullmark) when he played. Both of our goalies gave us a chance to win every single game and that gives the group a lot of confidence.”
“Anything I say will just be (understated),” said center Charlie Coyle. “He was unbelievable. Every game, he was just dialed in. He gives us more than a chance and it was no different tonight. We play with the utmost confidence in front of him. There’s just never a doubt.”
At the outset of the first-round series, Montgomery had indicated that he would maintain a goalie rotation, with Swayman and Ullmark trading off starts. But after the Bruins dropped Game 2 with Ullmark in net and then rebounded to win Game 3 with Swayman, the rotation plan went out the window and Swayman became the goaltender the rest of the way.
Game 7 was a tense affair, with neither team able to get on the scoreboard for the first two periods. The Leafs finally broke through with the first goal as William Nylander, who had scored both goals in Game 6, beat Swayman again at 9:01 of the third.
But that was the damage done against Swayman, who kept the Leafs scoreless through the rest of regulation and into overtime.
“I just wanted to battle and do my job,” said Swayman, “and enjoy the fruits of Game 7 overtime. When you say it out loud, it’s like a ‘pinch yourself’ thing. I’m just so grateful to get this opportunity and to do it with this group and this team, it’s a dream come true.”
A year ago, Swayman was put in the thankless position of trying to reverse the Bruins’ course after they had squandered a 3-to-1 lead in their first-round series against Florida. Ullmark had played in each of the first six games, and the Bruins decided a change in net might alter their fortunes. It didn’t.
This time, Swayman was at the top of his game and went into overtime feeling supremely confident.
“I think the biggest thing was just excited and enjoying the moment,” he said. “You’re in Game 7, overtime in home. It’s stuff that you dream of as a kid and that we can all get up for and be really excited about. But my mindset was just, one shot at a time, doing my job and enjoying the process. And I think that allowed me to really get involved in the game and have a good time doing it.”
