If anyone questioned whether Jeremy Swayman would be a rock for the Boston Bruins again this season, his season-opener performance erased any doubt. Last year's Vezina finalist recorded a 24-save shutout to start the season strong. It wasn't an easy performance, as the Bruins gave up 14 high-danger scoring chances, which is concerning after the goaltender was hung out to dry a lot last season. Nevertheless, on opening night, Swayman outdueled a fellow star goaltender, Igor Shesterkin.
David Pastrnak knows a thing or two about great goalies, given how much time he spends attacking in the offensive zone, and he certainly has a list of some of the league's best. Pastrnak couldn't get on the scoresheet in his first game as captain, and his comments after the game might've explained why, according to Brigette Proulx via X, formerly Twitter.
""They were both dialed. Sway was dialed a little bit more… We felt the calmness from him the whole game. When he has a game like this and he’s calm and focused, it’s impossible to beat him almost.”"
Pastrnak said in a media scrum that the Swayman vs. Shesterkin battle was a top-3 goaltender matchup in his eyes. When asked later by Scott McLaughlin who else is in the top-3, he unsurprisingly named last year's Vezina Trophy winner, Andrei Vasilevskiy.
Jeremy Swayman makes an early Vezina Trophy case
Swayman finally thrust himself into the Vezina Trophy debate last season by finishing as a finalist for the prestigious award. Bruins fans know how much Swayman meant to the team's playoff push last season, and based solely on how much he bailed his team out, he was a better goaltender than Vasilevskiy.
The voters obviously didn't take that into account when they voted the Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender as the winner, and it might be a good thing, as it only serves as more motivation for the competitive Bruins backstopper. If he wanted to get off on the right foot this season with a memorable performance, shutting out the Rangers on National TV with 14 high-danger scoring chances against is certainly a way to do it.
If the Rangers continue looking as they did on Tuesday night, Shesterkin may not be in the Vezina conversation. Vasilevskiy will be right there again, and it'll be interesting to see who else works their way into the conversation. Will it be Ilya Sorokin again, or will someone else put their name in the hat?
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