Boston Bruins
Jeremy Swayman To Make Season Debut In Bruins Home Opener

BRIGHTON — The Boston Bruins waited the entire offseason for Jeremy Swayman to sign a contract extension. Now that he has, they won’t have to wait nearly as long to see him start in goal.
After sitting out Boston’s season opener on Tuesday, Swayman will make his first start of the year tonight when the Bruins welcome the Montreal Canadiens to TD Garden.
Montgomery says Swayman will start tonight for the Bruins.
— Andrew Fantucchio (@A_Fantucchio) October 10, 2024
Swayman didn’t participate in Bruins training camp and only returned to the team earlier this week after signing an eight-year, $66 million contract to end the months-long negotiations.
Back in the Boston net tonight, he’ll see his first live-game action since the Bruins were eliminated from the playoffs last May.
“He’s a competitor, Bruins defenseman Hampus Lindholm said of Swayman Thursday morning at Warrior Ice Arena. “I never worry about that stuff. I try to worry more about what I’m going to do in front of him. That’s what the rest of us should do, too, and he’ll take care of us.”
This season will be Swayman’s first as Boston’s full-time starting goalie.
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His career 2.34 goals-against average and a .919 save percentage suggest little reason to believe he isn’t capable of fulfilling his new role. However, his career-high of only 44 starts in a season does allow for a minute amount of doubt.
Over the last number of years, Swayman split time in net with Linus Ullmark before the Bruins shipped the former Vezina Trophy winner to the Ottawa Senators in a trade back in June. Now that the starting job belongs to him, it’ll be interesting to see how much of the load Swayman can shoulder on his own.
“I think 55 is [games] a good number to start the season at,” said Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery. “Then, as the season goes, depending on the development of the team, depending on how much you’re going to be relying on him, moving that number up or down.”
The Bruins are hoping to rebound from their disastrous season-opening loss to the Florida Panthers and are making multiple changes to their lineup tonight against the Canadiens.
While Riley Tufte will slide in on the third line and Parker Wotherspoon will play on the third defense pair, neither will have as much of an impact as Swayman.
“I love his confidence around the team,” Lindholm said. “I’ve played with him now for a few years. He’s one of those guys who’s been around the team. He knows the culture. We have a lot of belief in him, and I think he has a lot of belief in us. It’s gonna be fun playing in front of him.”
Puck drop between the Bruins and Canadiens is set for 7 p.m. at TD Garden.