Swayman Earns Backup Job for Postseason

BOSTON- When Tuukka Rask went down with an upper-body injury in mid-March, the Bruins had a decision to make. With several back-to-backs on the horizon, Boston was being forced to turn the net over to one of their two rookie netminders, who between them claimed less than 29 minutes of National Hockey League experience entering the 2020-21 campaign.
At first, the Black & Gold opted for that experience, however limited it might have been, when Daniel Vladar got the call over Jeremy Swayman on March 16 in Pittsburgh. The Czech native impressed with a 34-save performance - including a highlight-reel stop that landed him as the No. 1 play on SportsCenter - in his first career victory.
But when Jaroslav Halak was sidelined by COVID in early April, Boston had no choice but to turn to the highly touted Swayman, who was in the midst of a dominant inaugural campaign with the Providence Bruins. The former Hobey Baker finalist brought with him an impressive pedigree, but no one was quite sure how it might translate to the NHL level.

Any questions, concerns, or hesitations that the Bruins might have had quickly dissipated when the 22-year-old made 40 stops in his NHL debut against the Philadelphia Flyers on April 6, leading the B's to a 4-2 victory.
From there, Swayman took hold of a spot on the Bruins roster, posting a 7-3-0 record with a 1.50 goals against average and .945 save percentage in 10 games over the season's final six weeks. It was a remarkable run, one that excited the B's fanbase and club's brass, who announced on Tuesday night that they are opting to go with the Alaska native over Halak as Rask's backup for the postseason.
"I think he's earned that," Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said following the regular-season finale in Washington. "Obviously a tough call with Jaro with his experience. He's just played more down the stretch here, Swayman. Some of that was out of circumstance, Tuukka got hurt and Jaro went into COVID protocol, so there's a quarantine, and for goalies, it's a little tougher to get thrown back in there. It'll take time to get back up to speed.
"Thought Swayman grabbed the ball and ran with it. That's the decision there, but that could change as we go along, as Jaro gets more reps. But right now, I think Swayman's done everything we asked."

Bruins general manager Don Sweeney said that goaltending coach Bob Essensa and goaltender development coach Mike Dunham factored in heavily when determining with Cassidy whether Swayman, Boston's fourth-round pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, was ready to make the jump to the big club after just nine games in the AHL.
But once Swayman arrived on the scene, it was his performance that dictated whether or not he would stay.
"We just got to the place where Sway was playing really well, giving us a great opportunity to win each and every night," said Sweeney. "We reward the players that have done that. I think that's something that our organization stands by. We're not trying to rush players, we're not trying to put players in situations where they can't handle.
"[Tuesday] night's a great example of, some players would have been intimidated in that situation, and Jeremy wasn't. It's the next step. He's got a lot to still go through, but these are experiences he'll benefit from and our team benefits from."
Sweeney went on to acknowledge the history of young goaltenders who have gotten off to a hot start at the NHL level before coming back to the pack as a way of saying that there is still plenty of room left for Swayman to develop. Nevertheless, Sweeney is encouraged by what he has seen to this point.
"It's a small sample size, but the wins and losses and stops add up," he said. "You look at how your team has played in front of him and what you expect from percentages and high dangers and situations that he's handled. Teams that we've played against are somewhat common for this season, but we've put him on the road, and we've put him in situations, and he's handled it well.
"For us, you're right, there's still a lot to be determined and there's plenty of young goaltenders that have taken huge steps forward and minor steps back. We'll see. But again, what we've thrown at Jeremy up until this point, he's handled well, and we expect him to continue."

Bruins president Cam Neely has been most impressed by Swayman's poise and calm demeanor between the pipes.
"There's not a big book on him for NHL players right now. But what I see with him is just, he's so calm and poised," said Neely. "And I like how he challenges the shooters. He comes out, he gets to the top of the paint. So, there's a little less to see when you're looking where to put the puck.
"Just based on the short sample size that we've got and the way he's played, from my perspective, and probably the players perspective, they're going to be confident playing in front of him."
Swayman's play - as well as Vladar's, for that matter - has certainly given Boston's brass something to think about heading into the 2021-22 season. With both Rask and Halak set to be unrestricted free agents at season's end, the Bruins' goaltending future is in question for the first time in nearly a decade.
"That's a good question. We've certainly had some internal talks recently about how things are going to look moving forward," said Neely. "We want to get through this year and see how the season ends up and where we're at. The way [Swayman's] played has given us some thoughts of what direction we may go in compared to where we were maybe two months ago."