Jeremy Swayman has had better nights between the pipes for the Bruins.
The goalie allowed six goals in Boston’s 7-5 loss to the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre on Tuesday night before being replaced by Linus Ullmark in the third period. It was an uncharacteristic performance by Swayman, who let in a few shots Bruins fans are used to him saving.
Swayman surrendered three goals in the first period before the Bruins answered with as many in the second to tie the game. But the tie was erased as quickly as it came when the Sens responded with another three unanswered goals to ultimately put the game away.
The loss can’t solely be pinned on Swayman, though. He didn’t get much help from the defense, and head coach Jim Montgomery called the blue line’s checking “atrocious.” The Bruins also are without Matt Grzelcyk, Brandon Carlo and Charlie McAvoy, and it finally came to light how much they are missed in Tuesday’s loss.
Sure, not having three of your top defensemen always is going to hurt, but Swayman isn’t making excuses. And if you ask him, he’s putting the blame on himself.
“The effort we gave was unbelievable,” Swayman told reporters after the game, per an NHL video. “I felt like I let the boys down, so I’m going to go back to the drawing board and do whatever I can because I guarantee you that I’m going to make this up.”
Swayman added he gave up “a lot of leaky goals” and that it’s “something that I can fix, and I will.”
It’s too soon to tell if this is Swayman going through a sophomore slump or if this was just a result of being on the second night of a back-to-back and playing a tough Senators team that was hungry for their first win in front of their home crowd.
The Bruins return to action Thursday night when they welcome the Anaheim Ducks to TD Garden. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. ET and you can catch all the action beginning at 6 p.m. on NESN.
