'I'm excited to get better'
BOSTON — Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman has a 22-8-8 overall record, a 2.57 goals-against average, and a .917 save percentage.
Despite being tied for ninth in the league with his goals-against average and second in save percentage, Swayman is still looking forward to improving his game down the stretch as the Bruins head into the postseason.
“Everywhere baby, everywhere,” Swayman told reporters after the Bruins’ 5-2 loss to the New York Rangers on Thursday night at TD Garden. “I think there’s a lot of opportunity for that, and I’m excited to get better.”
Artemi Panarin recorded his seventh hat trick in the Rangers’ win over the Bruins. Swayman said he didn’t get a good read on the first goal.
“It was kind of a broken play and then it went through a couple of skates,” he said. “One that I could work on to see (the puck) through traffic and another opportunity that I can work on, make the save.”
The second Panarin goal came via friendly fire when Bruins forward Jake DeBrusk knocked the puck past Swayman in the second period. His third was with Swayman on the Bruins bench for the extra attacker with one minute remaining in regulation.
“I think a lot of great learning lessons tonight to move forward,” Swayman said. “Not happy with the loss, but a lot of great opportunities to move forward and get better from this (game).”
Swayman added that battles with a team like the Rangers are important for the Bruins to experience and learn from as the regular season winds down.
“You don’t want to lose, but you want to trust the process,” he said. “That’s what happened (Thursday night) and I think a lot of opportunities to learn from our mistakes and move forward as a team.”
The Bruins are heading out on a six-game road trip beginning with a matchup with the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday afternoon. Swayman has faith in the team in front of him heading into the final 11 games of the regular season.
“I have no doubt in this team. There’s no doubt in this locker room,” Swayman said. “When we lose, when we win, there’s opportunities to grow, experiences gained.”