The Panthers scored four goals on Jeremy Swayman in Florida’s 6-1 victory in Game 2 over the Boston Bruins on Wednesday night.
It was the first time in eight starts that Swayman gave up more than two goals in this postseason. His goals-against average went from 1.42 to 1.82, and his save percentage fell from .955 to .942.
It was the first time in this year’s Stanley Cup playoffs that Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery pulled Swayman in favor of Linus Ullmark.
“The workload hasn’t played into Jeremy Swayman,” Montgomery said, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage. “The workload played into our effort tonight. We didn’t have juice tonight. Swayman was terrific.
“I thought about taking him out at 3-1, going into the third. And then when the fourth goal went in, I was like, I’m taking him out now. He made two great saves before it went in.”
Swayman wasn’t bothered by Montgomery’s decision when he discussed being pulled after the loss.
“I trust that guy with my life,” Swayman said of his coach, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage. “He’s going to make decisions that are gonna help the team and all I can say is I can’t wait for Friday.
Along with the lopsided score, the Bruins and Panthers each had six players ejected in the third period when Boston and Florida exchanged blows and takedowns, accumulating 134 penalty minutes between the two teams.
Even though Swayman wasn’t part of the fray, he believes his teammates did the right thing.
“We have so much belief in this room,” Swayman said. “We have so much confidence in this room and to see the way we responded … we’re never going to back down. There’s so much to be excited for when it becomes Friday.”
After the ugly loss, Swayman said the Bruins are staying true to their mantra of turning the page.
“We learn from it, and we move on,” he said. “We’re gonna stay even-keeled in this room. The belief that we have in one another, in this team, with this city … there’s not much that’s gonna faze us. That’s what we’re excited about. Next up is Friday, we can’t wait.”
Here are more notes from Wednesday’s Bruins-Panthers Game 2:
— Brad Marchand collected another milestone when he assisted on Charlie Coyle’s first-period goal. The Bruins captain became the ninth player in NHL history to record 10 points in the postseason nine or more times. He joins Wayne Gretzky, mark Messier, Jean Beliveau, Glenn Anderson, Paul Coffey, Jamomir Jagr, Jari Kuri and Nicklas Lindstrom.
— The Panthers recorded their first power-play goal against the Bruins after being held off the board on seven consecutive man advantages between Games 1 and 2.
— David Pastrnak dropped the gloves with Matthew Tkachuk in the third period. The tilt brought feelings of pride from Montgomery.
“What I’m really proud of, I’m proud of Pasta,” Montgomery said, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage. “There’s so many guys out there pushing after the whistle and the linesmen are there. Pasta and Tkachuk — they just went out there and fought. That’s what you like. You like your hockey players to be competitors.”
— The Bruins will look to regain control of the series when they head home to host the Panthers in Game 3 on Friday night. Puck drop from TD Garden is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET and will be televised on TNT. An hour of pre- and postgame coverage can be found on NESN+.
