The Bruins were going to want to see Jeremy Swayman get back on track no matter what. Having both him and Linus Ullmark playing well going into the postseason was always going to be the ideal scenario.
But when Ullmark got injured in the first period of Thursday night's loss to the Senators, it became even more imperative for Swayman to rediscover the form that had earned him NHL Rookie of the Month honors in February.
The updates on Ullmark since Thursday have been fairly encouraging, all things considered. He was unavailable for Saturday's game, but he's been around the team, and coach Bruce Cassidy said on Saturday that he "feels better." It's possible he could return to practice on Monday (the team is off Sunday).
Still, it was enough of a scare to put the spotlight on Swayman for the time being. Going into Thursday, Swayman was 3-4-0 with an .880 save percentage in his last seven games. After separating himself from Ullmark in February, Swayman had opened the door for Ullmark to catch and move ahead of him in the battle for the No. 1 job.
With Ullmark going down, though, the Bruins needed Swayman to play like a No. 1 again. After finishing Thursday's game with a strong third period, Swayman gave the Bruins just what they needed on Saturday, as he stopped 23 of the 24 shots he faced to lead Boston to a 2-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. The win officially clinched a playoff berth for the Bruins.
Swayman looked much more in control than he has recently, and it was evident right from the start. He was in good position to stop a Sidney Crosby point-blank chance early on. Same went for an Evan Rodrigues shot through traffic that hit Swayman and died, with no rebound to be found.
He was getting square to shots while the Penguins were on the power play, stopping all five shots he faced when the Bruins were a man down. His best save of the day came when an excellent lob pass from Kris Letang sent Jake Guentzel in alone, only to have Swayman shut his five-hole to deny Pittsburgh's leading goal-scorer.
"Certainly been solid, right?," Cassidy said of Swayman's play the last two games. "Certainly the Ottawa game, he gave us a chance to win. Tonight he stood in there. I thought we were working really hard in front of him, too, so it's a good combination. That's what goaltenders need.
"…I thought he looked composed. He was confident playing the puck. Didn't always work out for us, but he was confident doing it. That's step one for him in that area. Containing his rebounds -- all those little things that lead to a few less chances a game that help a goaltender."
On Thursday, Swayman got thrown right into a fire of the Bruins' own making. In his first period after taking over for Ullmark, the Bruins gave the Senators four power plays, including an extended 5-on-3. Ottawa scored on two of them and added a third goal in the period. Swayman came up big in the third, though, making a couple highlight-reel saves to at least give the Bruins a chance to come back. That momentum clearly carried into Saturday.
The Bruins needed this Swayman to return, and Swayman needed a game like this where he sees that one up on the scoreboard and a 'W' next to his name. It was the first time in 13 games he had allowed one goal or fewer, and it was his first win in two weeks.
"I think he needed this as much as we did, to be honest with you," Cassidy said. "He's a young guy. You don't want to let it drag too long. Sometimes older guys can play through things not going their way and come out of it OK. Young guys, you're never too sure, especially in that position. So good for him as a goalie to have a solid effort in a win."
