Hockey may be one of the more ultimate team games out there, but some players just need to step up and enjoy a monster campaign if their squad wants a chance to finish in the best possible place. The Boston Bruins are no different, and so far, the season has been turbulent, even if things look like they’re back on the right track.
But a 6-2 loss to open the season’s second half probably wasn’t what Joe Sacco and company had in mind, especially with that loss coming against a still-rebuilding but feisty Columbus Blue Jackets team. Losses like this can’t happen, and you can pin the blame on a multitude of players here.
To ensure that such a debacle isn’t a thing in the Bruins future, one player needs to step up their game in and game out when they’re on the ice, especially for a team whose defense should be the strength of this team.
The player in question is none other than Jeremy Swayman, who, halfway through the year, isn’t playing up to the new contract he signed. Heading into the Christmas break, Swayman led the league in goals allowed with 75, while posting an 0.887 save percentage and a 3.05 GAA.
There is good news for the Boston Bruins on the Jeremy Swayman front
If there’s anything to like here, it’s that Jeremy Swayman has been stellar lately, snagging a 3-1-1 record in his last five starts, with just eight goals given up in his previous four. Take out that eight-goal debacle we witnessed back on December 10th, and there are good signs that Swayman is finally on the up and up.
Plus, he’s got decent insurance in Joonas Korpisalo, at least at times, meaning the entire weight of the second half of 2024-25 doesn’t have to fall completely on his shoulders. Knowing that Swayman can and has looked like a Vezina Trophy contender in the past, getting him back to that level would render the Bruins as one dangerous hockey team, and one more than capable of making yet another serious playoff run.
We’ll see if Swayman regains the magic he possessed in 2022-23 and 2023-24. If he does, then the Bruins season is just getting started, and the hardships we saw to kick things off this year should be long gone. Plus, Swayman will be one fun player to watch, should he look like a Vezina contender throughout the back half of 2024-25.