When Boston Bruins coach Marco Sturm announced that Jeremy Swayman was starting a third straight game against the New York Islanders, it opened some eyes. All signs pointed to Joonas Korpisalo starting, but Boston's first-year head coach went with the hot hand.
“That’s why he was back in (Wednesday night),” said Sturm. “We, as coaches, had that feeling today that we can’t get him out of the net because he’s playing that well, and he showed it again today. How calm he was — that just gives us, I would say, a little bit of extra juice. We don’t have to worry about what’s behind us.”
It turned out to be the right decision as he made 44 saves in the Bruins' 3-1 victory. Swayman, according to MoneyPuck, leads the NHL in Goals Saved Above Expected Per 60, at 1.089. He has won seven of his last nine decisions.
Alex Steeves has funny comment after Islanders win
Alex Steeves had a career night on Long Island by scoring two goals. He tied the game for the Black and Gold shortly after the Islanders opened the scoring in the first period, then he gave Boston some breathing room in the third period with the club's first shorthanded goal for a 3-1 advantage.
“I’m not thinking I’m David Pastrnak or anything all of a sudden,'' Steeves said. "But definitely, it gives me confidence.”
Steeves signed as a free agent this summer from the Toronto Maple Leafs and has been a surprise, producing some offense for the Bruins. They'll take it from anyone.
.500 trip was a success
When the Bruins traveled to California to begin their four-game road trip, they wanted to at least split it. In order to do that, they needed to beat the Islanders after alternating wins and losses against the Anaheim Ducks, Los Angeles Kings, and San Jose Sharks. They achieved that on Long Island.
“We came into the trip wanting to at least be .500 on it, and felt like we left some points in California in a couple of those games,” Tanner Jeannot said. “We knew we wanted to come out and play this game really hard, finish off the road trip, and head back home for Thanksgiving. Boys battled hard tonight.”
The Bruins will host the New York Rangers on Friday afternoon before they begin a home-and-home with the Detroit Red Wings, who come in on Saturday night. Boston will be in Detroit on Tuesday night.