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Bruins Game Grades: Soft Goals Spoil Swayman’s Strong Performance

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4 weeks ago

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The Canadian Press via AP/Timothy Matwey

Jeremy Swayman made 23 saves on 26 shots in net Thursday night for the Boston Bruins.

That’s a respectable stat line for any goalie, especially when it comes against Connor McDavid and the high-octane Edmonton Oilers.

But the box score doesn’t show the full story. It doesn’t show when, or more importantly, how those three pucks got past Swayman in a 3-2 overtime loss at Rogers Place.

Bruins: B+

The night began about as well as it could’ve for the Bruins.

They scored 1:07 into the game and held a 2-0 lead at the end one of the best first periods they’ve played all year season, during which they held the Oilers to just five shots on net.

Even when Edmonton started to push back in the second period and into the third, Boston did well by not giving up the middle of the ice. According to Natural Stat Trick, the Bruins had an 11-7 advantage in high-danger scoring chances.

But it wasn’t the opportunities that the Bruins made the Oilers earn that burnt them. Rather, it was the ones they let them have for free.

A poorly timed Boston line change with less than three minutes to go in regulation allowed Edmonton to tie the game. The case was the same when the Bruins gave up an odd-man rush that led to Mattias Ekholm’s game-winning goal.

As the old adage goes, a two-goal advantage is the most dangerous kind.

“The start was terrific,” Bruins interim head coach Joe Sacco told reporters in Edmonton. “It got us ahead in the game, which is where you want to be. We would’ve liked to have defended the lead and held on to it, but that’s the way it goes sometimes…whenever you lose a point when you’re up two, nothing on the road, though it’s disappointing”

It seemed that instead of playing hockey, the Bruins thought they were playing horseshoes and hand grenades.

Jeremy Swayman: B

If anything, Ekholm’s game-winner was the only goal that Swayman had no chance of saving. However, if Swayman hadn’t let in two softies earlier on, the game wouldn’t have made it to overtime in the first place.

Yes, Justin Brazeau stopped skating just as the Oilers won a puck battle in the corner, leaving Zach Hyman wide open to fire a shot past that put Edmonton on the board at 11:17 of the second period. But the shot itself wasn’t a particularly difficult one to stop.

Swayman had a clear view of it as it came toward him, but it still somehow made its way into the back of the net.

And sure, Connor McDavid is the best player in the world. He used Nikita Zadorov as a practice pylon as he drove to the front of the net to tie the score at 17:39 of the third period.

At that point in the game, though, that’s a puck that Swayman has to stop, especially when the defense had played so well in front of him.

“Those are world-class players, and they’re going to make plays, so I got to do my job too,” Swayman told the media in Edmonton. “Read their plays, and do the best I can to cover the part of the net that they can see. Again, just hats off to them.  I thought our guys did a great job of isolating them and shutting them down. It could have done a lot more damage, I feel like. And again, just really pleased with the guys in front of me.”

It’s an unfortunate narrative for Swayman.

He played well for the majority of the night, but this was a game where the few mistakes he made had more of an effect on the outcome.

Mark Kastelic: A

Typically, Mark Kastetlic energizes the Bruins with a fight.

But against Edmonton, he used his hands to score as he showed off some silky mitts to make a swift backhand move off the rush to score his fourth goal of the season.

Kastelic had a near chance later in the game as well.

Hee almost scored by coming off the bench and driving to straight to the net but was only to be stopped by a pad save from Stuart Skinner.

Oliver Wahlstrom: B-

Oliver Wahlstrom made his Bruins debut on Thursday and played the third-lowest time on ice total of any player on the team, skating just 8:51. But even in his limited playing time, the newest member of the Bruins still found a way to make a solid first impression.

Wahlstrom didn’t have any points and finished the night with an even rating. He was, however, often in the right position at both ends of the ice, allowing him to make plays on offense and defense.

Trust me when I say that wasn’t always the case during his six-year run with the New York Islanders.

The Bruins hope it will be for them.

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