There’s so much to say about teams with an elite goalie. That’s what the Boston Bruins have in Jeremy Swayman.
Swayman isn’t just a good goalie looking great while playing on a good team. On some nights, Swayman is the reason the Bruins have a chance to win. And while he didn't have his best stuff on Thursday night in Montreal, that's a one-off compared to his entire body of work.
And it’s Swayman who makes the Bruins a legitimate playoff threat.
Sure, there are some individuals like New Jersey Devils GM Sunny Mehta who now infamously called goaltending a “random” position. He argued that goalies did not have a measurable impact as compared to other positions.
That’s the guy that paid an arm and a leg for Connor Hellebuyck.
Fortunately, the Bruins don’t need to pay up for a top goalie. They already have one. Swayman is what makes the difference between the Bruins being one of the mushy-middle teams and being a top contender in the Eastern Conference.
Having an elite goalie is all about time
The knee-jerk reaction to having a top goalie is to stop the puck. The thought process is that a good goalie keeps goals out, thereby helping his team win.
Yes, that’s true. But having an elite goalie goes well beyond just stopping the puck.
A guy like Jeremy Swayman stops pucks when his team makes a mistake. When teams know that a goalie will bail them out, there a much more confident demeanor to the team. It’s what Patrice Bergeron said about playing with Carey Price on Team Canada.
Bergeron made it clear that having someone like Price in goal meant they could be far more aggressive in front of him.
But there’s another dimension to a goalie like Swayman. He buys him team time. That time comes when things aren’t going well. For example, when a team just can’t score, a high-end goalie can keep his team in the game long enough to win.
How many times has Swayman held the fort long enough for David Pastrnak to score a late third-period or overtime goal?
That’s the difference between playing well and actually being a great team. The Bruins are lucky to have Swayman. And they’re even smarter for playing a solid game in front of him. Instead of dumping the responsibility on his shoulders, the team plays its best in front of him.
Swayman is then left to take care of the rest. And so far, that approach has allowed the Bruins to emerge as one of the Eastern Conference’s top teams this season.
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