Jeremy Swayman has given the Boston Bruins so many great performances in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs, and with their season on the line Tuesday night in Game 5, he stepped up again with a stellar showing in net.
Swayman made 28 saves on 29 shots (.966 save percentage) as the Bruins closed out a 2-1 victory over the Florida Panthers at Amerant Bank Arena. The result extends the series to Game 6 at TD Garden on Friday night, where the B's will need another win to stave off elimination.
The 25-year-old netminder saved his best for last as he robbed Panthers forward Sam Reinhart with a stellar stop in the final seconds of Game 5. The Panthers had the goalie pulled for the extra attacker and created a couple quality scoring chances, but Swayman stood tall in net and prevented Florida from forcing overtime.
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The Panthers, based on the quality of their scoring chances, were expected to score 2.41 goals in Game 5, per Natural Stat Trick. Swayman held them to only one.
Swayman leads all goalies in the playoffs with a .933 save percentage and 10.41 goals saved above expected. Game 5 marked the eighth time in 11 starts this postseason that Swayman has allowed two or fewer goals.
The Bruins have never won a series when trailing 3-1 (0-25 all time). And even though the challenge facing the Bruins remains very difficult despite Tuesday's win, they do have a realistic chance of making history because of Swayman's brilliance in net.
"I'm just so proud of this group," Swayman told Sportsnet after Game 5. "I couldn't be happier with the way we responded, the way we started tonight, and just the initiative of knowing that our season was on the line and we're not going to take no for an answer. We couldn't be happier going back to Boston now."
