Jeremy Swayman only lasted the first period of Boston's 6-3 loss to Ottawa.
What looked like a scheduled loss less than a week ago suddenly became very interesting for the Bruins on Thursday night.
Boston’s playoff odds were already slim last week — with the Bruins’ decision to trade off Brad Marchand, Charlie Coyle, Brandon Carlo, and two other lineup regulars further signaling the team was ready to wave the white flag on a disappointing 2024-25 campaign.
But after a reshuffled roster posted back-to-back regulation wins over two of the top teams in the Eastern Conference in the Lightning and Panthers, Thursday’s road matchup in Ottawa once again held seismic playoff implications.
With a third-straight win on Thursday night, the Bruins would have pulled themselves into a three-way tie with the Blue Jackets (currently in the second wild-card spot) and Rangers at 70 points — while also loosening Ottawa’s grip on the top wild-card spot.
But all of the positive sentiment drawn out of Boston’s unexpected triumphs over the Bolts and Cats couldn’t carry over on Thursday night, with a clunker from Jeremy Swayman sapping whatever momentum the Bruins brought over into their most important matchup of the season.
For the third time this year, Boston’s No. 1 netminder was pulled from a game — with Swayman trudging through one of his worst periods of the year in the opening 20 minutes en route to an eventual 6-3 loss for the Bruins.
While Boston struggled early against Ottawa’s forecheck, Swayman left a lot to be desired in a miserable first period — relinquishing four goals on 15 shots before being replaced by Joonas Korpisalo over the final two periods of play.
It was a brutal development for the Bruins, who once again showcased some resolve over those final 40 minutes by repeatedly clawing out of their deficit.
But Ottawa’s four-goal salvo in the first was too large to overcome — while a stellar showing from former Bruin Linus Ullmark (22 saves) closed things out for a Sens team that has now won five games in a row.
“That’s just not on Sway — obviously, that’s on everyone,” Bruins interim head coach Joe Sacco said of pulling Swayman. “And we were trying to do — just trying to give the team a lift there.”
Even if Sacco put the onus on the entire team for an ugly start, Swayman left a lot to be desired with his limited reps.
Ottawa opened the scoring just 3:44 into the contest off of an unscreened turnaround shot from Shane Pinto — with his shot from the right circle beating Swayman clean right under his glove.
Tyler Kleven doubled the lead for Ottawa at 9:09 with an unscreened blast — while Swayman could not slide over to cover a backdoor tally from Drake Batherson on the power play at 16:21.
Just 22 seconds later, Ridly Greig knocked home a rebound to make it a 4-1 game — capping off a sequence where Swayman misplayed a puck behind the net and Mason Lohrei was unable to clear the puck out of danger.
Swayman alone was not the sole reason for Boston’s three-goal deficit after 20 minutes, with an ill-timed icing from Andrew Peeke setting up the Sens’ first tally and Parker Wotherspoon whiffing on multiple clears before Kleven’s blast.
But in a critical game that could have significantly boosted Boston’s playoff odds, the Bruins needed an extra save or two from Swayman — especially in a game where Boston battled back and newcomers like Casey Mittelstadt (one goal) and Marat Khusnutdinov (one goal) continue to impress.
Despite Swayman’s standing as the team’s No. 1 netminder, his play has dipped when forced to make three consecutive starts. During those outings this season, Swayman is just 3-8-3 with an .869 save percentage.
“Getting a couple shots helps for sure,” Korpisalo, who finished with 14 saves, said of stepping into the game. “You’ve been sitting there for quite a bit and, yeah, I just tried to battle it out and at some point, you get into the flow and it’s just another game.”
While Swayman was given an early hook, his former teammate in Ullmark shut the door for Ottawa.
After Khusnutdinov made it a 5-3 game at 13:55 in the second, another slick passing sequence between him and Jakub Lauko nearly led to another tally from Lohrei to close out the frame.
But Ullmark made arguably the save of the season to rob Lohrei — gloving that Grade-A look with a diving effort to avoid making it a one-goal game entering the final 20 minutes of play.
Boston landed another eight shots on goal against Ullmark in the third, but could not solve their former netminder en route to a disheartening loss.
The Bruins still remain two points behind Columbus in the standings, but they also have played two more games than the Jackets — with the Rangers, Canadiens, and Red Wings also all sitting with at least 68 points in the standings.
Boston has showcased plenty of resolve since the deadline, while both stars like David Pastrnak and newcomers in Mittelstadt and Khusnutdinov keep on making plays.
But if the Bruins want to have any shot at making some noise this spring, both they and their No. 1 goalie can’t afford many more nights like Thursday.
