If Jeremy Swayman was in a perfect situation, his customary postgame hug with Linus Ullmark would still remain intact.
The familiar sting of the injury bug has hampered that as of late, however.
On Saturday afternoon, Swayman needed to change things up with his new battery mate in Troy Grosenick — opting for a chest bump that nearly sent both netminders sprawling on the TD Garden ice. By the time he regained his balance, Swayman went with the self-embrace before heading down the tunnel.
No Linus Ullmark? Jeremy Swayman goes with the chest bump with Troy Grosenick and a self-hug: pic.twitter.com/ogWQPVUDYO
— Evan Marinofsky (@EvanMarinofsky) April 16, 2022
The current configuration of Boston’s goalie corps is far from ideal, especially with Ullmark still on the shelf after taking a slap shot off the mask during Thursday’s loss to the Senators.
But even with Swayman largely on an island when it comes to reps, the results haven’t changed all that much for the Bruins. Much like Ullmark’s recent heater that kept Boston afloat earlier this month, Swayman appears to be finding his game at the perfect time for the B’s.
“It's obviously unfortunate that (Linus) is out — but we want to make sure that we're doing everything we can to help the team win every night,” Swayman said of running with his current opportunity. “So looking forward to having him back, but it's business as usual.”
At the time when Ullmark was forced from Thursday’s loss against Ottawa, the situation in net for Boston seemed dour.
Without Ullmark (boasting a .935 save percentage over his last nine outings) in place, the keys were handed to a rookie netminder in Swayman trudging through the first real slump of his pro career (.850 save percentage from March 29 to April 12).
Bruce Cassidy’s plan all along was to ease Swayman back into game action to help snap him out of this skid ahead of the postseason. But Ullmark’s injury put Boston in a precarious spot, with Swayman standing as Boston’s only legitimate option for the next week-plus, even if his struggles persisted.
Thankfully, such a worst-case scenario hasn’t come to pass.
After a shaky second period against Ottawa upon getting pressed into game action, Swayman has been stout in net for the last seven periods of action — posting a .945 save percentage during that stretch, including a pair of victories over a pair of playoff clubs in the Penguins and Blues.
Even though Swayman hasn’t exactly been under siege during these last two wins thanks to a stout defensive structure from the B’s (46 total shots faced), the rookie netminder still presented encouraging signs that some of the faults in his game are getting sealed up.
Jeremy Swayman with a big stop on Brayden Schenn: pic.twitter.com/T9c8DVwGQp
— Evan Marinofsky (@EvanMarinofsky) April 20, 2022
Not only were the Penguins and Blues not gifted with a bevy of Grade-A rebounds, but Swayman was far more relaxed when handling the puck — especially on an overtime sequence on Tuesday in which he cleared a skittering biscuit away from Vladimir Tarasenko in no-man’s land.
"Very good,” Cassidy said of Swayman’s recent play. “I mean, even the last play in the overtime to play the puck, being on his toes. That's an area that's been a challenge for him at times this year. So he was in the game. But stopping the puck, he saw it well. Like I said, the second goal is a hell of a tip by (Robert) Thomas, that's just a real athletic play by a good player. So can't really fault him. The power-play goal, again, they beat our pressure, made a nice play. So he was there for us and certainly gave us a chance.”
Swayman will once again get the nod on Thursday against the Penguins, but help could be on the way as soon as this weekend.
Cassidy noted on Wednesday that Ullmark, David Pastrnak and Hampus Lindholm all took to the ice at Warrior Ice Arena earlier that morning — with Ullmark on course to start Saturday against the Rangers.
"All skated today in Boston, so closer for the weekend,” Cassidy said. “I haven't heard whether they'll be in or out. I believe Ullmark will definitely play this weekend, if he has no setbacks tomorrow. So he's looking good. He's the closest to getting back in, so that's good.”
Over the final five games of the regular-season slate, getting Ullmark back up to speed ahead of his first Stanley Cup playoffs will stand as a priority for Cassidy and Co.
The process of choosing a Game 1 starter between Swayman and Ullmark remains ongoing.
But it’s a good problem for the Bruins to have, with Swayman’s recent resurgence offering hope that the B’s could have two quality options in net by the time May 2 arrives.