by Takeaways from the Bruins’ road trip: Swayman’s performance just wasn’t good enough originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
The Boston Bruins just finished a tough five-game road trip. It was probably their most challenging road trip of the season considering the length and quality of the opponents.
The journey couldn’t have started worse for the Bruins as they lost 8-1 to the Winnipeg Jets and 5-1 to the Seattle Kraken. The B’s rebounded with a 5-1 victory over the Vancouver Canucks and a 4-3 overtime win against the Calgary Flames.
The trip ended Thursday night in Edmonton, where the Bruins led 2-0 in the first period but lost 3-2 in overtime. Connor McDavid scored the equalizer with just 2:21 left in the third period.
Taking five points out of 10 isn’t a terrible road trip, especially considering how it started.
The Bruins will be back in action on Saturday against the Buffalo Sabers at TD Garden. But first, let’s take a look at three takeaways from the five-game road trip.
Jeremy Swayman needs to play much better
The Bruins won’t go far this season if No. 1 goaltender Jeremy Swayman doesn’t play at a higher level. Sure, the B’s would probably still make the playoffs, but winning a round would be quite a challenge.
The Bruins don’t have much depth in scoring. You won’t win many high scoring games. The best path to victory for this Boston squad is low-scoring games where top-notch defense and goaltending lead the way.
Swayman entered the season as one of the ten best goalkeepers in the league. He hasn’t reached nearly that level so far, posting an 11-10-3 record, a .887 save percentage and a 3.13 GAA in 24 starts. To put these numbers into context, Swayman has never finished a season with a save percentage below .914. His GAA is currently 0.60 higher than last season.
Swayman started four of the five games on this road trip. He finished with an .856 save percentage and a 3.67 GAA. That he conceded a career-high eight goals in the first game of the trip in Winnipeg against the Jets didn’t help those numbers, but he also conceded three goals in both Calgary and Edmonton.
Connor McDavid’s tying goal late in the third period on Thursday was hard for Swayman to give up. He has to save it.
However, things get even worse.
Swayman has saved 12.5 fewer goals than expected this season, ranking last (86th of 86) among all qualified goaltenders, according to MoneyPuck. He ranked 4th in goals saved above expectations in the 2023-24 regular season and 1st in that category in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs. So again a significant decline compared to last season.
Swayman still has plenty of time to turn things around. It certainly didn’t help him or the team that he missed all of training camp and preseason due to a contract dispute. But he has already had 24 starts. There are no more excuses now. The Bruins won’t make the playoffs if their $66 million goalie performs well below expectations.
The playoff race is tight despite positive results for the Bruins
The Bruins entered Friday’s game with a record of 17-13-4 and 38 points, clinching the first wild-card playoff spot in the Eastern Conference standings. They are tied for third place in the Atlantic Division with the Tampa Bay Lightning, who have played four fewer games.
This is what the wildcard standings look like on December 20th:
1. Boston Bruins: 17-13-4, 38 points (34 GP)
2. Ottawa Senators: 17-13-2, 36 points (32 GP)
Pittsburgh Penguins: 15-14-5, 35 points (34 GP)
Philadelphia Flyers: 14-15-4, 32 points (33 GP)
Despite winning six of their last nine games and earning points in seven of them, the Bruins are still in a tough playoff battle.
The Senators have been playing much better lately, thanks largely to the resurgence of former Bruins goaltender Linus Ullmark, and are back in the playoffs after seven wins in their last ten games. The Penguins also have a record of 7-2-1 in their last 10 games.
The good news for the Bruins is that no team is running away with the Atlantic. The Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers are tied at the top of the division standings with 42 points each, just four ahead of the B’s.
The Bruins have righted the ship after an 8-9-3 start that cost previous head coach Jim Montgomery his job. But there is still a lot of work ahead for the Bruins to increase their chances of securing a playoff spot.
The B’s have the seventh-toughest remaining schedule and their January slate is packed with matchups against quality opponents including the Leafs, Oilers, Lightning (twice), Panthers, Jets, Avalanche and Devils. Boston will also play twice against the surprisingly good Washington Capitals before the New Year.
The next five to six weeks are a critical time for the Bruins.
The offense still needs a spark; Time to call Matt Poitras?
Offensively, the Bruins looked a little better at times during the road trip. A 5-1 win over the Canucks and a 4-3 overtime win over the Flames were impressive.
David Pastrnak led the attack in both games with four points (one goal, three assists) in Vancouver and the game-winning goal in Calgary. Morgan Geekie is also starting to find his rhythm, with six points (four goals, two assists) in his last seven games. Elias Lindholm has picked up a point in three consecutive games – the first time he has done so since the beginning of November.
But the Bruins are still having a hard time scoring goals consistently. Early in the road trip, they scored just one goal in ugly losses to the Jets and Kraken, then scored just two goals in Thursday’s overtime loss to the Oilers.
The Bruins rank 27th out of 32 teams with 2.59 goals scored per game. Boston’s power play ranks 31st with a success rate of 12.7 percent. Charlie Coyle, Trent Frederic, Justin Brazeau, Cole Koepke and Nikita Zadorov failed to score a single point during the five-game road trip.
The Bruins waived veteran forward Tyler Johnson earlier this week. He hadn’t made much of an impression, so it made sense to part ways. The B’s claimed 2018 first-round pick Oliver Wahlstrom off waivers last Saturday, but it remains to be seen whether he can be a reliable offensive player. He scored just four points in 27 games for the Islanders before being released.
One move that could lead to a goal-scoring move is calling up Matthew Poitras from the AHL. The B’s sent Poitras to the Providence Bruins after he had a slow start to the season. He has been nearly unstoppable for the P-Bruins of late with a seven-game scoring streak.
Not only does Poitras have a good shot, he is also a talented playmaker. The Bruins could use him at center or on the wing, perhaps giving him an opportunity to boost their lackluster power play.
Poitras is only 20 years old and it’s great for the Bruins that he’s gaining some confidence in Providence. There is no immediate need to bring him back to Boston, but if the Bruins continue to struggle offensively over the next few weeks, calling up Poitras should be one of the first steps taken.
