Jeremy Swayman gave up four goals on 15 shots in the first period of the Bruins’ eventual 6-3 loss to the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday night. It was the goalie’s third straight start after two strong wins against the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Florida Panthers.
Swayman’s workload, as expected, has been higher this season. And in his first season as the Bruins’ No. 1 goalie, Swayman’s numbers are down. After Thursday’s loss, the goalie fell to 20-22-6.
Thursday marked the 26-year-old’s 48th start of the season — a new career-high after playing in 44 games last year.
Regardless of what the stats say, interim coach Joe Sacco is still confident in his goalie.
“I just think (Thursday night), that’s not all on Sway. That’s on all of us,” Sacco told NESN’s Andy Brickley after the game. “And no, I don’t think (his workload is) the concern. Obviously, we’ll do a good job of trying to monitor that. But like I said, this was a team this was a team effort here. And we just weren’t sharp enough in the first period and it cost us.”
The Senators scored four goals in the opening 20 minutes — all against Swayman. One goal came after a rough shift from Parker Wotherspoon in the offensive zone where he couldn’t hold onto the puck.
Sacco pulled Swayman for Joonas Korpisalo to start the second.
“We were just trying to give the team a lift,” Sacco told reporters.
The Bruins are fighting for a playoff spot and sit two points behind the Columbus Blue Jackets for the second opening in the Wild Card standings. But they’re also fighting the Montreal Canadiens, Detroit Red Wings and the New York Rangers.
Whether Swayman starts Saturday against the Lightning remains to be seen. But now more than ever wins are important for Boston in its final 15 games.
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