In case anyone needed a reminder, the Bruins made it to the second round of the playoffs, losing to the eventual champion Florida Panthers in six games. While plenty of things can be blamed for the team's exit from the playoffs, goaltending is certainly not one of them.
Jeremy Swayman absolutely balled out for the Bruins in the playoffs. He posted a 2.15 GAA and .933 save percentage in 12 games, taking full control of the number one job. That made it easier for the Bruins to pull the trigger on a Linus Ullmark trade, sending the former Vezina Trophy winner to Ottawa for a package that includes Swayman's new partner in Joonas Korpisalo.
On Tuesday, Money Puck released its list of goaltending leaders in the playoffs now that they have concluded with the Panthers on top. Further proving Swayman's dominance in the postseason, he ranks at the top of several categories.
Bruins' Jeremy Swayman has playoff dominance validated by latest stat release
In the 12 games he played in, Swayman's expected goals against was at 38.25, according to Money Puck. He let in 25 goals, already an indicator of his performance level. That's good for 13.3 goals saved above expected, the most among goalies in the playoffs, just beating Igor Shesterkin and his 13.1 goals saved above expected.
Swayman's goals saved above expected per 60 minutes is at 1.144. Joseph Woll of the Maple Leafs is at 1.845, but he only played in 3 games as opposed to Swayman's 12. That 1.144 mark blows everyone else out of the water. That is well above Shesterkin's mark, Jake Oettinger's, Sergei Bobrovsky's, and Stuart Skinner's totals, all of which had more games than Swayman and longer playoff runs.
While yes, the other goalies had more time for their numbers to drop, it's impossible to argue Swayman's worth to the Bruins in the playoffs. He near single handedly dragged the Bruins into the second round when they had trouble scoring goals, and the fact that he performed eons better than teams that made it to the Stanley Cup Final is more evidence of his domination. Now, when's he gonna get the big bucks?