Jeremy Swayman made 27 saves in the Bruins' 3-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday night, but none more important than the one he made on Corey Perry.
With Boston up 2-1 with just under seven minutes to go, it looked like Perry was going to tie it up on a beautiful setup by Brayden Point. But Swayman made a sliding save with his right pad to preserve the Bruins' lead and help lift them to the eventual win.
"I kind of blacked out, you know? I think you know how it feels," Swayman told NESN's Andrew Raycroft after the win. "But I just knew it was two-on-one ... just tried to get over there and seal that bottom of the ice."
And seal the bottom of the ice he did, as the Bruins went on to win their 13th straight game at TD Garden. It's no wonder head coach Jim Montgomery thought this was the "best he's looked" all season.
Andrei Vasilevskiy put on a show for the Lightning at the other end of the ice and the Bruins had to really work for this win. The 2019 Vezina Trophy winner kept Tampa Bay in it, and for Swayman, he did not take for granted going up against one of the NHL's best goalies.
"It's a privilege. It's pretty amazing, you look up to these guys," Swayman told Raycroft. "At the end of the day you're playing hockey on the same surface so you wanna do whatever it takes to win and especially beating them we knew it was gonna be hard and they put on a good game."
The Bruins now enjoy a few days off before returning to action Saturday night when they welcome the defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche to TD Garden for a 7 p.m. ET puck drop.
