The Boston Bruins have scored four goals in consecutive games. Their all-world winger David Pastrnak has scored two goals in each of those contests, yet the Bruins have lost them both. They have allowed 11 goals in their last two games, one with Joonas Korpisalo and the other with Jeremy Swayman in net.
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Swayman has struggled throughout the course of the season, a concerning fact considering that the Bruins inked him to an eight-year deal last offseason. While the Bruins’ offensive efforts have not been perfect this season, Swayman has not given his team a chance to win in too many of his starts. His play is starting to become a real area of concern for the black and gold, and if he does not turn it around the Bruins will not be considered legitimate contenders as we head into the back half of the season.
Swayman’s Down Season
Swayman was stellar in each of his past two seasons. He appeared in 37 games as the Bruins’ 1B in 2022-23, posting a save percentage (SV%) of .920 and a goals-against average (GAA) of 2.27. He had similarly spectacular numbers in 2023-24, stepping up his game in the postseason as he solidified himself as the Bruins’ goalie of the future. This season, the numbers simply have not been there for the 26-year-old netminder. Swayman held out until just days before the season began, missing all of training camp and making his debut in the team’s second game of the season. Perhaps it should have been expected to see some rust. That said, the Bruins are more than halfway through the season, and while Swayman has been able to string together solid play at times, his numbers have not gotten meaningfully better.
After a disappointing outing against the Maple Leafs on Jan. 4, his SV% sits at a meager .891; out of goalies who have started 20 or more games, only Elvis Merzlikins and David Rittich have posted worse figures in that category. In just about every statistic, Swayman falls short of his backup Korpisalo. Simply put, he has not been himself, and it may be time for the Bruins and their fans to be seriously concerned.
Possible Causes
Swayman is on pace for nearly 60 starts this season: his previous high in a season was 44 in 2023-24. He went right into a season where he was set to bear the heaviest workload of his career without the luxury of being conditioned by a rigorous NHL training camp. It is possible that, because of his lack of conditioning in the offseason, Swayman was not prepared to bear the brunt of a 60-ish-game schedule and has been playing catch-up since the beginning of the season. While this scenario is possible, it is not likely. Looking back to the postseason from a season ago, Swayman started 12 consecutive games for the Bruins. He only got better as the playoffs progressed. On top of that, his worst starts of 2024-25 have not come on quick turnarounds: of the four games in which he allowed five or more goals, just one of them occurred under fewer than three days’ rest.
At 26 years old, Swayman should be entering the prime of his career as a goalie in the NHL. It is also not likely that he has gotten over the hump physically, particularly considering he does not have a long injury history or an inordinate number of NHL starts under his belt.
The Positive Outlook
With age and stamina not likely a concern, it seems most probable that Swayman has simply been in a rut to start the 2024-25 campaign. The defense in front of him has not been nearly as sound as in prior years, contributing to the likelihood that he may have lost confidence rather than something physically being wrong. If that is the case, it is possible that Swayman will find another level of concentration as the schedule heats up and the games start to matter more and more as he did last season heading into the postseason. In a tight race for coveted playoff spots in the Atlantic Division, Bruins fans should be hopeful that Swayman’s play will improve as the weather gets warmer.
