Bruins Notes: Jeremy Swayman Stands Tall In Return For Boston

It had been over a week since the last time Jeremy Swayman had been between the pipes for the Boston Bruins

But Swayman, who missed time due to an illness, showed little to no rust Wednesday night in a 2-1 overtime loss to the New Jersey Devils at the Prudential Center.

Making his first start since Dec. 3, Swayman showed he was up to the task of taking on the fourth-best scoring offense in the NHL. He held the Devils below their average, coming through with 33 saves. It was the first time he recorded more than 30 saves in a game since Nov. 20.

“He’s been terrific all year long,” Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery told reporters, per team-provided video. “Him and Linus (Ullmark), both of them, they’ve been terrific. That’s why we have the record we have.”

Swayman stonewalled the Devils for two periods by using an aggressive style. The 25-year-old routinely challenged New Jersey by coming outside of his crease to cut down on shooting angles.

It took a bouncing puck just over two minutes into the third period for the Devils to finally beat Swayman. He stiffened after that, trying to anchor a Bruins team that was running out of gas playing without its top center and top defenseman, who both were out with injuries. The Bruins ended up getting outshot, 6-0, in overtime to put somewhat of a damper on Swayman’s performance.

Swayman is now 9-1-3 on the season and is in the top three in several meaningful goalie statistics. It will be difficult for him to claim the Vezina Trophy like Ullmark did last season given the platoon system the Bruins operate.

But if Swayman continues to be a steadying force in net and keeps producing, his name should be at least in the conversation.

Here are more notes from Wednesday’s Bruins-Devils game:

— Johnny Beecher turned in an underrated performance for the Bruins in the loss. Beecher was Boston’s best faceoff man, winning 11 of 16 draws.

— James van Riemsdyk continues to enjoy a career resurgence during his first season with the Bruins. After accumulating just 29 points a season ago, van Reimsdyk is up to 17 points this season with five goals and 12 assists after registering a helper on Morgan Geekie’s first-period tally.

— The Bruins are 2-4 in games decided in overtime this season.

— The Bruins recalled Jesper Boqvist from Providence on Tuesday but the forward didn’t crack the lineup with Montgomery going with Jakub Lauko, Beecher and Oskar Steen as his fourth line.

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— The Bruins will look to bounce back Friday night when they take on the New York Islanders. Puck drop from UBS Arena is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET, and you can watch the game, plus an hour of pregame coverage, on NESN.