Haggerty: Swayman Ascending For Bruins

But Swayman knew there was another performance level that he could reach at the NHL level, and he opted to spend last summer in Boston getting there while working out every day at Warrior Ice Arena with the B’s training staff.

Sure, weekends were for Mt. Washington hikes and some summer fun, but Swayman was at the B’s practice facility busting his butt all summer on weekdays while also skating with other NHL regulars at Boston University.

“I stuck around Boston this summer because I knew I was going to get the best training and the best coaching, and the best atmosphere to get back into it,” said Swayman, back over the summer after signing his one-year contract. “That’s a commitment that I wanted to make to everything personally to make sure I never have that feeling again like I did in Game 7.

“I think it’s one of the better training years of my life, and that doesn’t happen without [Bruins Performance Coaches] Kevin Neeld, Tim Lebbossiere and Mike Dunham, who has been on the ice with me countless times already. Those are some of the things I’ve seen this summer to really put an emphasis on my offseason training.”

The results from Swayman’s hard work and dedication have been apparent from the start of training camp and now they’ve translated to the ice where he improved to 6-0-0 on the season in a 3-2 win over the Dallas Stars at American Airlines Arena on Monday night.

“It’s just special to be able to train in Boston. We’ve got [performance coaches] Kevin Neeld, Ken Whittier and we’ve got Tim LeBossiere and that’s a pretty incredible trio to be working with every day,” said Swayman to NESN after the game. “The on ice [work] is just as important and I was able to train at BU with a high-quality players from all around the league and that’s a big thing for me. I had never trained like that before and I got some results, but it’s a long season and I’ve got a lot to work on still. I’m excited for that.”

There were many stellar stops for Swayman playing behind a patchwork defense still missing Charlie McAvoy, Derek Forbort and Matt Grzelcyk, but there was a notable sequence in the third where he stuffed Roope Hintz on a breakaway and then turned away Wyatt Johnston on a follow-up attempt as well. That was right after Boston scored an insurance PP goal and minutes before the Stars again closed it to a one-goal game with a tipped shot, the only ones that were getting by Swayman in victory.

In all the Bruins were outshot 16-4 in the third period, but Swayman stopped enough pucks to allow Boston to hang out and get out with a victory.

“I think he looks bigger in the crease and he’s more poised in there. In the second period with five seconds left he just held onto the puck where last season you might have seen that end with a faceoff,” said Jim Montgomery to NESN. “You’re just really seeing with him where his awareness, his confidence and his ability to control the game from the crease has been incredible.”

Swayman is now tied with legendary B’s goaltenders Tuukka Rask (6-0-0 in 2016-17) and Tiny Thompson (6-0-0 in 1937-38) for the second-longest win streak by a Bruins goalie to start a season, behind only Tim Thomas (7-0-0 in 2010-11) in a year where he won the Vezina Trophy, the Conn Smythe and the Stanley Cup.

“Everything,” said Swayman, when asked what he wants to work on. “It’s a game that will humble you if even give up on one day [of improvement]. That’s what is special about this group. We have a leadership that keeps us responsible and accountable for every day no matter how tired you are, or how good you are playing. You get humbled pretty quickly with [Brad] Marchand in the room.

“That we want to hear. That’s our culture and that is what gets us the good results.”

The aforementioned trio of Boston Bruins all-time goalie greats is pretty strong company for a player in Swayman that was in the middle of an unsatisfying arbitration process with his team just a couple of months ago.

Swayman stopped 34-of-36 pucks and was brilliant in the second and third period as Dallas kept hanging around in another game where the B’s couldn’t score enough to gain separation from a talented Stars bunch. That’s the assignment for the B’s netminders this season and so far they’ve been up to the task.

“Sway is really coming into his own and it seems like he’s really taken a great step up this season,” said Brad Marchand. “And Linus has obviously won the Vezina as the best goalie in the league, so to have that tandem we’re really fortunate. We rely on them a little too much and get a little too comfortable, but when we break down in front of them it’s awesome that they are there for us.”

The numbers are all stacking up for Swayman aside from the undefeated record while standing third in the NHL in GAA (1.49) and second in save percentage (.952), and as a big part of a Bruins goalie duo again leading the NHL in goals against average (1.92) and save percentage (.939) while serving as the clear backbone of a hockey club built on defense and goaltending this season.

It all draws back to Swayman being motivated by the bitter way last season ended, perhaps by his contract experience this offseason involving arbitration and simply by knowing he could be even better than he’s been to this point in his Boston Bruins career.

Swayman has ascended to another level for the Black and Gold and it’s going to be really interesting to see how that potentially alters the long term B’s goaltending picture even as the Bruins franchise enjoy two players currently at the height of their professional puck-stopping careers right now.