Jeremy Swayman played just nine games in Providence last season before Tuukka Rask’s hip injury and Jaroslav Halak’s bout with COVID-19 opened the door for him to be called up to Boston.
As it turns out, Swayman may spend even less time in Providence this season. While it initially appeared Swayman was in line for a lengthy stint in the AHL when Rask returned on Jan. 11, Swayman is now back, and he will make his first NHL start in a month on Tuesday against the Penguins.
Rask, meanwhile, will miss at least another week while dealing with a lingering lower-body injury that is likely related to his hip surgery. Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy shared that update on Monday after Rask was not on the ice for Boston’s first practice after the All-Star break. Rask will not practice all week. Cassidy said any further update would come over the weekend or early next week.
It has already been two weeks since Rask’s last start. Cassidy said Rask “felt a little something” during that game -- a loss in which he gave up five goals -- but it wasn’t initially believed to be serious. Rask went on the road with the Bruins and was expected to play at some point that week. He didn’t. He wasn’t able to practice when they got home, either, and now he’s still out.
The longer Rask’s issues linger, the harder it becomes to not at least consider the possibility that he’s already played his last game this season. He’s 34 years old. He was already coming off major surgery. Dealing with a lengthy setback, which is what this has turned into, is obviously not how he expected this to go.
No one’s making any decisions on that front just yet, but Cassidy didn’t shut down the possibility when asked about it on Monday.
“That’ll be his call, obviously,” Cassidy said. “He’s the one kind of fighting through some -- I don’t know if it’s medical issues, or some body issues for his age, with the comeback. We’ll see how it turns out.”
Swayman, meanwhile, is now firmly back in the rotation, at least for the time being. He joined the Bruins on their last road trip when it became clear Rask was going to miss some time, but he played just half a game in relief of Linus Ullmark.
Swayman went back down to Providence to start a game on Saturday while the NHL was on its All-Star break and stopped 26 of the 27 shots he faced in an overtime win. His overall numbers in five starts for Providence -- 3-2-0 record, .911 save percentage -- may not look like anything special, but Swayman said there were “a lot of positives” that came out of the experience and that he chose to view his time there as an opportunity rather than linger on any disappointment over being sent down.
“I think being able to go down there, be welcomed with open arms, see guys I’ve known since last year, the coaching staff there, everyone wants you to get better and be back up here,” Swayman said. “So it was a great environment to be around. I think I learned a lot of great lessons, learned a lot from playing time and from practice. So I’m just excited to be back.”
Swayman feels his game is in a better place now than when he got sent down a month ago, too.
“I think going down there and getting playing time and seeing plays develop more, I was making saves that I might not have made a week or two before I got sent down, just because I learned and got the games under my belt,” he said. “The more games the better. The more experience the better. It’s all a positive.”
Now Swayman will get more games and experience at the NHL level, at least for another week or two, and possibly longer than that. He and Ullmark were the tandem the Bruins started the season with, and they could very well be the one they finish it with if Rask is unable to get on track.
Swayman has been solid in his 16 NHL starts this season (8-6-2 record, .916 save percentage), but not so great that sending him down was out of the question. Ullmark has also been solid overall (16-6-1, .913 save percentage), but it’s worth noting that his impressive 9-1-1 record since Jan. 1 has been accompanied by a less impressive .902 save percentage. Both are still in the negative in goals saved above expected, according to Evolving-Hockey (-0.98 for Swayman, -4.32 for Ullmark).
The Bruins are probably going to need goaltending that’s better than just solid if they’re going to make any sort of playoff run. That was why Rask was a risk worth taking in their minds. There was a chance that if he came back healthy -- something he wasn’t last season -- he might be able to regain his 2019-20 Vezina runner-up form and provide a meaningful upgrade in goal.
Perhaps that could still be in play. But Rask isn’t as healthy as anyone would’ve hoped right now, and it’s unclear when or if he will be. So for now, it’s time once again to see what Swayman can do.