The Bruins appear to have dodged a major injury bullet with Jeremy Swayman.
The goalie was injured in a collision with Patrice Bergeron in Boston's win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Nov. 1. While he was seen without crutches after the game, Swayman did have a bag of ice taped to his knee.
Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery labeled Swayman week-to-week but never specified the extent of the injury. They recalled Keith Kinkaid from Providence on an emergency basis to replace Swayman on the bench while he recovers.
With Brad Marchand, Matt Grzelcyk and (likely) Charlie McAvoy all returning ahead of their original timelines, some may think the same could be true with Swayman, especially after Montgomery told reporters Swayman is "trending ahead of schedule."
"He's a couple days ahead of schedule. He's more mobile than we expected by now already," Montgomery told reporters Wednesday at Warrior Ice Arena. "But he's not even on the ice yet, so he's not close."
While a bit discouraging, knowing Swayman is trending in the right direction certainly is good news.
Until he returns, Nick Foligno has filled in nicely to give Linus Ullmark the post-win hug.