One of the big keys to success this season for the Boston Bruins was getting back to the elite level of goaltending that they’ve become accustomed to within the franchise, dating all the way back to the Tim Thomas Era.
It obviously wasn’t the case last season as both the goalies and the defenders in front of them struggled mightily during a lost season for Boston, and perhaps nobody was more lost than Jeremy Swayman after holding out of training camp and then struggling pretty much all season. That’s all water under the Bruins' bridge now, however, as it appears this season is becoming a return to fine, vintage form for Swayman. The save percentage (.915) is back around his career number (.911) after last year’s outlier performance, and Saturday night’s 3-2 shootout win was a nice punctuation mark for the veteran netminder as he shut the Red Wings down in the shootout, including a dismissive toss of the puck after stopping Patrick Kane cold after a flurry of dizzying stickhandle moves heading to the net.
JEREMY SWAYMAN SAYS GET THE FUCK UP BRUINS WIN pic.twitter.com/hxnozQfQcQ
— Spoked Z (@SpokedZ) November 30, 2025
“I just wanted to save every shot that came my way because I knew this was going to be a big momentum game for us,” said Swayman. “It’s a one shot at a time mentality and focusing on the breakaway at hand [during the shootout].
“I think it’s just confidence knowing that you’re going to be square to the shooter, reactionary and wherever [the puck] goes you’re going to be in front of it. We all had to dig in, and no matter what came our way keep pushing until we got the two points [against Detroit].”
Swayman finished with 24 saves and was extremely strong in the win over Detroit, just as he had been standing on his head, making 44 saves in the Wednesday night road victory over the Islanders just ahead of Thanksgiving. In fact, it really feels like Swayman has rediscovered his groove during the month of November with an 8-2-0 record in 10 games this month, along with a .935 save percentage, and that has allowed the Bruins to endure some of the injuries and tired legs that are a part of the compacted NHL regular season schedule during an Olympic year.
“It’s huge. I think everybody feels it. You guys [in the media] feel it and the fans feel it, and the guys upstairs [in Bruins management] definitely feel it, and most importantly our players feel it,” said Marco Sturm. “All year long since Day One when I met him, he’s been rock solid on the ice and off the ice, and the calmness he brings us with a chance to win every game is a good feeling.”
Some of it is about a maturity to Swayman’s game that comes as a direct result of some of his positive and negative experiences over the last couple of years, and some of it is entering this season following the high-water mark of winning the gold medal with Team USA at the IIHF World Championships last spring.
It also doesn’t hurt that each stellar goaltending performance gets him one step closer to vying for another gold medal in Italy as part of Team USA at the Olympics this winter.
“Of course, it’s a life goal of mine to be on the Olympic team,” said Swayman. “I know that if I do my job for the Boston Bruins, it’s going to put me in the best position to be there one day. So I’m just going to stick to my day-to-day life here and hopefully it works out the right way.
“I’m forever grateful being a part of that [world championship] group and winning it. It’s something that did give me confidence taking some weight off my shoulder knowing that I can finally win something and be a part of group that’s won something and be a part of a group that’s successful. The guys in this room have all had success at the highest levels, so this was an experience for me to help the Bruins move forward and win hockey games.”
Some of Swayman’s resurgence is clearly about the quality of defense being played in front of him under Sturm’s renewed attention to defensive detail, but some of it is also about the goalie himself perhaps not worrying about doing too much. That point came to clarity after an offseason conversation with Sturm where the B’s bench boss reiterated to his goalie that his biggest concern should be stopping the puck rather than spreading himself too thin concerning other parts of the team.
“Because he’s an older guy and he’s been around a bit, I think he felt like he needed to do a little bit more,” said Sturm. “It’s something that I talked to him about and that I wanted him to just concentrate on stopping the puck, basically. I think we have another group and a lot of other guys that can act as leaders, there are leaders…I think for him it’s like ‘okay, you’ve got one job to do.’ I think that’s something he was able to go back to just worrying about himself and playing good hockey, and I think that has helped him for sure.”
Part of the current dilemma when it comes to Swayman will be avoiding the temptation of riding him too hard in the first half of the season given that he’s likely to be one of the few guys working during the Olympic break in February. The Bruins have definitely leaned Sway’s way as Joonas Korpisalo has struggled a bit more this season with an .875 save percentage and a 3.59 goals against average in his 10 appearances this season.
Then again, there seems to be little reason to pull back the reins on a goalie that’s living up to the $8 million contract he fought for and signed last season before learning some hard lessons he’s fully put into practice this season. Swayman rewarded the B’s with a winning performance against Detroit on Saturday and it feels like there is more of them to come given the way he’s stopping pucks this season.