Rookie Swayman gets nod in goal in Game 6
BOSTON — Jeremy Swayman was not great in the Bruins’ 5-1 loss in Game 5 at Carolina on Tuesday. But with the Bruins’ backs straight up against the wall, that fact did little to shake the faith that coach Bruce Cassidy has in the rookie netminder.
Cassidy did not hesitate when asked on Wednesday for his starting goaltender for Thursday’s must-win Game 6 at the Garden. He’s going back with Swayman.
This will be the first time Swayman will have started four consecutive games this year. In fact, his start in Game 5 was only the second time that he had started three straight games. But Cassidy and his staff have not sensed any fatigue in the 23-year-old Swayman.
But he’ll need to be better than he was on Tuesday, and the coach acknowledged that. And in the games in Boston, Swayman has been better.
“I don’t think he looked his best (Tuesday),” said Cassidy. “What’s happened, and I’ll go to Game 3. Big, big saves early on (Tony) Deangelo and the breakaway to (Jordan) Martinook. It gives us a little bit of ‘Hey, let’s find our game, even though they scored first. Those are important, timely saves. (Tuesday) night we didn’t get it. (Before) the first goal, we’re on them, another good start and we need that save early. It’s one you need to keep you in it. It didn’t happen, it gives them a little bit of life in their building. They’ve lost two in a row. They get a lead…they got timely saves and we didn’t and then they got some life from there and I’m not going to put it on the goaltender. Those are the saves we got at home that we’re going to need to (Thursday).”
While the first goal was a costly one, Cassidy saw improvement in his goalie as the game went along, saying the second goal — Deangelo’s power-play slapper — was the result of a screen, as well as a simple sounding characteristic. And Cassidy used those goals against to challenge his own skaters.
“Both goals hit the net,” said Cassidy “That is important. We’ve stressed that over and over. Get it on net, from your D-men, you never know. So give them credit. They hit the net on both shots. The first one (Jaccob Slavin’s goal) we
need that save, the second one the puck has eyes and it’s got some velocity to it. And good for them. The third goal is just puck luck. Give (Seth) Jarvis a lot of credit. He’s hanging around the front of the net, so I’m not going to take anything away from him. But that’s a goal that goes in once a month….but I give him credit for being around the net and dirty areas. He’s a young kid that’s done a good job with that. We need a little more of that with our mentality with our guys who have been in the league. He’s not a big guy, Jarvis, but he found a way to get to the net front and that’s effective playoffs hockey.”
Lindholm probable: Cassidy expects Hampus Lindholm, outmsince Game 2 after absorbing a huge hit from Andrei Svechnikov, to play in Game 6. The big defenseman skated with the extra players at Warrior Ice Arena on Wednesday. Cassidy said he’ll have a more definitive answer in the morning.
If Lindholm is ready, Cassidy acknowledged that that would leave him with a decision between Matt Grzelcyk and Mike Reilly as the odd man out. While the third pairing of Derek Forbort and Connor Clifton may not have quite as good in Game 5 as it had been in the first four games, Cassidy said the duo has pretty much done its job,and then some. Also Lindholm, Reilly and Grzelcyk all bring certain puck-moving qualities while shot-eating Forbort brings a unique quality that he wouldn’t want to take out of the lineup.