Bruins are asking Jeremy Swayman to be perfect, which is too big of an ask

BOSTON — The Boston Bruins were in good shape. They had a two-goal lead over the Vegas Golden Knights with less than a minute left in the second period. They needed Jeremy Swayman to get them into the second intermission with a 3-1 advantage.

Swayman fell short of that task.

The Bruins goalie gloved Zach Whitecloud’s 57-foot slap shot. As he should have. Whitecloud’s shot was from distance with no traffic in front.

Swayman pulled his glove toward his body. As he did, the puck jangled around the glove’s pocket and dribbled out. Swayman felt the puck jostle around and fell flat on his back to stop it from entering the net. But the puck rolled across the goal line before Andrew Peeke swept it aside.

a slightly weird one…

BUT WE'LL TAKE IT ☁️🤩 pic.twitter.com/7FnxR9x3wk

— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) February 8, 2025

The Golden Knights had life. They tied the score in the third and pulled ahead with 70 seconds remaining in regulation.

The Bruins are in no position to give opponents gifts.

“You never want to give up a goal with under a minute to go,” interim coach Joe Sacco said after the 4-3 loss. “I don’t know if deflating is the right word. It wasn’t really a good second period overall anyway. I think they probably could have had one or two before that.”

The Bruins enter the 4 Nations Face-Off break out of the playoff picture. It will be Swayman’s net when they return against the Anaheim Ducks on Feb. 22. The crease, in all likelihood, will continue to be his the next week for tilts against the Toronto Maple Leafs and New York Islanders.

Ace goaltending is atop Sacco’s formula for a late-season run. It might be an unreasonable request.

Goalies regularly fumble pucks. Last-minute goals happen against every puck-stopper.

The problem with the Bruins, however, is how they cannot afford Swayman to make any mistakes, let alone backbreaking ones late in periods. It is a lot to ask of a goalie. Perhaps too much.

Consider Tomas Hertl’s game-winning goal. Pavel Zacha, one of the Bruins’ regular penalty killers, was off for slashing. Hertl found a soft spot in the bumper between the four penalty killers. Hertl had time to collect Jack Eichel’s pass and load up his between the dots before Charlie Coyle arrived.

Swayman had to deliver a game-saving stop, regardless of the situation’s difficulty. He could not.

Swayman, for his part, wants the net as much as possible, regardless of the pressure. 

“I’ve always prepared that I’m going to play every single game,” said Swayman, who is in his first season of being the franchise’s clear-cut No. 1. “The transition of me getting the green light more often, everyone gets to see that it hasn’t been that much of a change, an adjustment, as far as my routine, as far as my recovery and as far as my preparation. That’s what gives me confidence. It’s a testament to the mindset that I keep. I’m proud of that. I know it’s a challenge at times. But I accept that challenge with open arms. I want to test my limits. I know I have to earn playing time.”

Flawless goaltending is unreasonable to expect of Swayman or any other goalie. But the way the Bruins are designed, there is no margin for error.

The Golden Knights tied the score, to that end, off a third-line breakdown. Trent Frederic chased a dump-in behind Ilya Samsonov. Zacha joined Frederic below the goal line. In that situation, Oliver Wahlstrom had to be a responsible high forward.

When the Golden Knights gained possession, Wahlstrom tried to seal off Eichel’s exit. But the No. 1 center pulled the puck neatly around Wahlstrom’s lunge to start the up-ice rush.

Charlie McAvoy was gapped up enough to contain Eichel’s rush. Mason Lohrei was also in position to manage Pavel Dorofeyev. But Wahlstrom pursued Eichel while McAvoy was closing. Eichel slipped the puck through to an unguarded Shea Theodore. That’s all the Golden Knights needed to get a two-on-one below-the-dots opportunity. Swayman had no chance following the slot-line pass or stopping Dorofeyev’s slam dunk.

PAVEL…

DOROFEEEEEEEEEEEEEYEV 🚪😤 pic.twitter.com/7lX98vcSgP

— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) February 8, 2025

Wahlstrom, a healthy scratch in the previous game against the New York Rangers, replaced Justin Brazeau on the No. 3 line. The ex-New York Islander has one goal in 15 games. Wahlstrom’s near-absence of production is doing nothing to offset his sketchy play away from the puck.

Brazeau, meanwhile, is No. 5 on the team with 15 five-on-five points. Whether Wahlstrom gets another opportunity over Brazeau remains to be seen.

“We had our third forward in good position,” Sacco said. “But they got by our third forward in the offensive zone. Then we duplicated off the rush.”

Swayman categorized the post-break sprint as a fight for playoff inclusion. Every point will count. Fair or unfair, Swayman can most influence the Bruins’ direction.