Swayman Stealing the Show In The Stanley Cup Playoffs
Jeremy Swayman's Stats So Far In the Playoffs Place Him Among the Best Goalies in NHL History
Jeremy Swayman
Jeremy Ryan Swayman
Boston Bruins1
25 years old (11-24-1998)
6 ft 2 in
Anchorage, Alaska, U.S
Goaltender
11th overall, 2017
Swayman Has Taken Over the No. 1 Goalie Spot From Reigning Vezina Trophy Winner
It isn’t often that the reigning Vezina Trophy-winning goalie is healthy and can’t get into a game in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. That is the case with the Boston Bruins with Jeremy Swagman’s stats making it clear that he is the go-to goalie for Boston the rest of the way.
Linus Ullmark, who became the sixth Boston Bruins goalie to win the Vezina Trophy as the top goaltender in the NHL, hasn’t played since Game 2 of the first-round series against the Toronto Maple Leafs as Swayman has been almost impossible to score upon.
Swayman set his playoff high with 38 saves in Game 1 of the second-round series against the Florida Panthers.
Swayman is emerging as one of the leading contenders in the Conn Smythe Trophy race.
He saved the Bruins multiple times during the series with the Toronto Maple Leafs and picked right up where he left off in the series opener against Florida.
A quick look at the NHL scores shows that Boston scored a total of two goals in the two losses for Swayman in this year’s playoffs.
It is a far cry from 2023 when Swayman played a total of 3:11 in the first six games against the Panthers before getting the call in Game 7. He has to be happy that the NHL matchups have a rematch with Florida this season.
The Rotation Is Over
It might be hard to find an NHL team that had a true goaltender rotation during the regular season more than the Bruins.
During the regular season, Swayman played in 44 games, he went 25-10-8 with a 2.53 goals-against average and a save percentage of .916. Jeremy Swayman’s stats are even better in the playoffs.
Ullmark had a 22-10-7 record in 40 games with a 2.58 goals-against average and a .915 save percentage.
The split of games would been even closer had Ullmark not missed some time.
Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery told the media that the team’s plan was to stay with the rotation of Swayman and Ullmark alternating starts unless one of them clearly took control.
Swayman stopped 35 of 36 shots in Game 1 against the Maple Leafs and true to his word, Ullmark started the second game of the series.
Swayman was back in there for Game 3 in Toronto and hasn’t left the net since. He has yet to allow more than two goals in a game in this year’s playoffs. That is something to consider when it comes to the NHL betting trends.
Let’s Look At the Numbers
There’s a lot of hockey left to be played, but Swayman is putting up some elite numbers.
Since 1990, Ilya Bryzgalov, Jonathan Quick, and Patrick Lalime were the only goalies with at least 10 games played in a playoff year to have a goals-against average under 1.50.
Swayman currently has a goals-against average of 1.42. His save percentage is .955 and since the stat has been tabulated, only Bernie Parent with the Philadelphia Flyers during the 1967-68 playoff season has a better mark.
Parent, who ironically was in his first season with the Flyers after playing his first two NHL seasons with the Boston Bruins, had a .963 save percentage in five games as the Flyers fell to the St. Louis Blues in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
According to Mike Kelly of the NHL Network, Swayman leads the NHL with 12.1 goals saved among expected. The next closest NHL player was Toronto’s Joseph Woll at 3.9.
Jeremy Swayman in Game 1 vs TOR: 3.35 goals saved above expected in 5-1 Bruins win.
Game 1 vs FLA: 2.88 goals saved above expected in 5-1 Bruins win. They are the two best goaltending performances of the playoffs by that measure.
Swayman is in a league of his own right now. pic.twitter.com/gd8KFARh7B— Mike Kelly (@MikeKellyNHL) May 7, 2024
https://x.com/MikeKellyNHL/status/1787852478693753174
A Pick Well Spent
The Boston Bruins front office has received plenty of criticism for its first-round picks dating back to 2015 when Boston had picks No. 13, 14, and 15.
With Mathew Barzal, Kyle Connor, Brock Boeser, Travis Konecny, and Sebastian Aho available, the Bruins selected defenseman Jakub Zboril, forward Jake DeBrusk, and forward Zachary Senyshyn. Only DeBrusk is still with the team.
In 2017, Josh Norris and Robert Thomas were the picks right after the Bruins took defenseman Urho Vaakanainen. In 2021, Boston selected Fabian Lysell with the 21st overall pick. Dallas drafted Wyatt Johnston two picks later.
It is hard to find fault with Boston’s fourth-round pick in 2017.
Twelve goalies were picked before Swayman went to Boston with selection No. 111.
Swayman, who was 7-2 against Toronto this NHL season, was picked one spot after the Maple Leafs picked goalie Ian Scott.
Swayman joins Jake Oettinger of the Dallas Stars and Stuart Skinner of the Edmonton Oilers as goalies taken in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft who are starting for teams still in contention for the Stanley Cup. Carolina Hurricanes’ reserve goalie Pyotr Kochetkov was also picked in the goalie-rich 2017 draft.
When looking at Jeremy Swayman’s stats, only Oettinger has appeared in most NHL games among the goalies selected in the 2017 draft. Oettinger was taken with the 26th overall pick while Swyman went to Boston at No. 111.
After a brilliant three-year run at the University of Maine, Swayman played in just 14 games in the American Hockey League before being promoted to the NHL.
What’s Next?
While winning Game 1 on the road was a huge boost for Boston, the Florida Panthers rallied from a 3-1 deficit to stun the Bruins in last year’s playoffs.
Florida is the home favorite in Game 2 on Wednesday (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN) before the series shifts to Boston for Games 3 and 4. Florida won Games 5 and 7 on the road in the 2023 playoff series so the Panthers aren’t ready to waive the white towel just yet.
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