The Bruins improved to 61-12-5 on the season, and fittingly it was on the back of David Pastrnak’s 57th goal and Jeremy Swayman’s 31 saves as Boston defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 2-1 in OT on Thursday night.
“Yeah, I think it was a special one. The crowd was into it the whole time,” Swayman told reporters, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage. “I think we knew the magnitude of the game sending the message still. We know they’re a playoff team, and we could see them down the road, so special when for sure.”
Swayman said the team believes in themselves and knows what they need to do in order to come from behind to get the win, whether it was before they clinched a playoff spot or after they captured the President’s Trophy.
“It was never a doubt in this locker room. And that’s the model that we want to have going into playoffs and every game for that matter, keeping it day by day,” Swayman said. “So again, it’s a whole the whole bench knew, you know, even if we were down one that’s going to happen in playoffs. We’re gonna do whatever we can to fight back and regain the lead, and that’s a special win.”
The Bruins had a solid first period against the feisty Leafs outshooting Toronto 11-7, but in the middle frame, Swayman was tested when he turned away 14 of 15 shots.
“I just wanted to do my job,” Swayman said. “My defense did a great job of clearing rebounds if there was one. I just wanted to save it to my post, and if they did get a rebound, get in front of it.”
Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery understands how important goaltending is to the team’s success and told Jack Edwards and Andy Brickly how outstanding Swayman and Linus Ullmark have been.
“Tonight, he was unreal. I mean, he made a lot of spectacular saves look easy,” Montgomery said of Swayman on NESN’s postgame coverage. “You know, both goalies have been tremendous. And you know, Sway tonight was really square to the puck. … Toronto’s a high-end offensive team. They made a lot a lot of nice plays, and he was square to the puck. He was reading the puck so well.”
The Bruins have always said the crowd at TD Garden is fun to play in front of, and Swayman said tonight’s crowd was electric when he earned his 22nd win of the season.
“It felt like a playoff atmosphere out there tonight,” Swayman said. “You know, it’s a different crowd when your ears start ringing in your helmet, you know, and that’s, that’s what happened that gave me chills.
“That’s why we play. That’s why the city is so special to play in front of, and yeah, I think it was a good preparation game. But again, we’re just having two points. And now we’re focused on New Jersey.”
The Bruins are one win shy of the all-time wins record of 62 set by the 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings and duplicated by the 2018-19 Tampa Bay Lightning. The Black and Gold will have the opportunity to tie the record on Saturday when they host the New Jersey Devils. Puck drop from TD Garden is set for 8 p.m. ET with the game airing on ABC.
