Another slow start led to another comeback win for the Bruins on Thursday night against the Jets.
Boston improved to 18-0-2 at TD Garden this season and extended its home point streak to 20 games with a 3-2 win over Winnipeg.
Everything just seems to be going right for the Bruins this season despite beginning the year shorthanded, dealing with other early injuries and acclimating to a new head coach. But whatever issue came the Bruins' way they never seem fazed and have led the NHL in points for the majority of the 2022-23 season.
Here are four takeaways from Thursday's win.
Has Swayman turned a corner?
Linus Ullmark has made a clear case to be the No. 1 goalie for the Bruins after looking like a brick wall between the pipes and putting together a Vezina-worthy start. But Swayman showed plenty of potential last year that didn't quite carry over to begin 2022-23. The sophomore goalie did suffer a lower-body injury that caused him to miss a month and looked a little rusty upon his return. But another strong start Thursday that included 25 saves has given optimism that he's shaken off any cobwebs.
"I thought he made some exceptional saves," Montgomery told reporters. "When it was 2-0, he kept it at 2-0 to give us an opportunity to get back in this game. So, I give him full credit because the first one is a guy all alone at the hash marks, and that's a tough one; that's a high-end scorer who got his 20th of the year, so he gave us an opportunity to come back and win this game, so I'm very happy with Swayman's game."
The two first period goals weren't ideal, but Swayman didn't allow another puck by him after that.
"A lot of the credit goes to the guys in front of me," Swayman told reporters. "You focus on one shot at a time and take the positives from the play before, so that's what I wanted to focus on and, luckily, I didn't let another one in, so I was happy with that."
Slow start leads to comeback
The Bruins have started their last few games slow and not on the right foot. One slow start even led to Jim Montgomery telling Patrice Bergeron that it was his locker room to send a message to before a comeback win over the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Boston found itself down 2-0 in the first, but as we've seen so many times this season, you never can count the Black and Gold out.
"I thought we were skating pretty well in the first," David Pastrnak told reporters "We got a couple tough bounces that maybe come with a focus, maybe wasn't as focused as we should be in the beginning, but I thought we were skating well. We played pretty good, but we were down, 2-0, so we obviously knew that there had to be changes and we tried to bear down on the details and focus more on the second period."
And bear down on the details they did with Pastrnak and Jake DeBrusk tying the game at two in the second.
"There's such a quiet confidence in this room," Nick Foligno told reporters. "So I don't think we ever get too flustered by anything."
Those in attendance started to get a bit louder after Pastrnak's goal, which extended his point streak to 10 games, and continued until the final buzzer.
Nick Foligno continues to play crucial role
Can we say that the 2021-22 season for Foligno was fluke? The forward looks like a player revived this year and continued to be crucial to the Bruins' lineup Thursday when he scored the game-winning goal in the third period.
Foligno truly has settled into the bottom-six role for the Bruins and brings a veteran presence and leadership when he's on the ice. Not only did "Uncle Nick" provide the game-winner, he helped the B's get back on track.
"He had a huge part in that," Montgomery told NESN's Jack Edwards and Andy Brickley of Foligno helping with the comeback. "Obviously, the game-winner, but just the way he was skating, getting pucks, dragging them wide and getting them to the goal line, which I think in the second period turned the game around for us."
Trent Frederic's growth is underrated
Frederic at times found himself being the healthy scratch last season and got into a bit of penalty trouble that often didn't do the Bruins any favors. He's been a more mature player this year, stays on the ice and has built incredible chemistry with Charlie Coyle and Foligno.
"I think that's the biggest thing, too. When Monty puts us out there together, it's usually for a reason," Foligno told reporters. "It's to try and get down low underneath the goal line and use our big bodies to get the momentum back, and luckily we were able to get that one for us."
Frederic finished Thursday with an assist as he continues to carve out a permanent role on the team.
