Yahoo Sports Bruins Star Gives Rangers Veteran Goalie Big Praise
The Boston Bruins’ Jeremy Swayman is locked in.
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Sure, Boston didn’t get the end result it wanted against the New York Rangers, losing 2-1 Thursday night at Madison Square Garden, but the Bruins goaltender is in a stretch of his best hockey of the season.
At the other end of the ice, Rangers goalie Jonathan Quick produced an incredible 32-save performance and showed why he’s one of the best of his generation and a two-time Stanley Cup champion when he played for the Los Angeles Kings.
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“Their goalie played amazing,” Bruins’ David Pastrnak told reporters after the game.
Swayman also played well and finished with 25 saves, including several timely stops, but he gave all the credit to Quick after the game.
“Pretty cool moment to see vintage Quickie,” Swayman told reporters. “He’s a guy who has had success in this league because of the work he’s put in, and the kind of human being he is, and he’s someone I want to be when I grow up. He’s well-deserving of tonight’s win and good for him. I love watching him play.”
Some would blame Swayman for New York’s first goal when the Rangers’ Mike Zibanejad scored at 9:48 of the first period for a 1-0, but it was a communication breakdown in front of him between defensemen Charlie McAvoy and Nikita Zadorov that led to the tally. Other than that, Swayman did his job and the Bruins had plenty of opportunities to win this game, but Quick was the difference.
“We’ll take the positives out of this one and move forward,” Swayman said.
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Swayman is 7-3-1 in his last 11 starts and no doubt has found his game after a slow start to the season. A lot of that had to do with his contract status until he signed after missing training camp. He admitted recently he’s finally comfortable with his process and understands he needs to be the team’s best player every time he’s between the pipes. It also helps that the Bruins are playing their best defensive hockey of the season the last 20 games under interim coach Joe Sacco and Swayman’s performances during that span have stood out.
As the Bruins continue to battle for a Stanley Cup playoff position, Swayman will need to be the difference-maker as the team focuses on its defensive play.
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