For Jeremy Swayman, seven starts into his NHL career, Sunday was about as close as he’s been to playoff hockey.
“It was a fun atmosphere to play in,” said the Bruins rookie goaltender, whose most significant postseason experience to date has come in Hockey East Tournament games. “It was a tight game all the way through. It’s what we’re going to expect in a couple weeks.”
If he keeps playing like this, he might be facing the heat of playoff shooters up close.
He lost, 1-0, to the Penguins. But after the 22-year-old Alaskan submitted another glittering 60 minutes: square to almost every chance, calmly swallowing screaming shots with his glove, making a few bailout saves after turnovers, in no way projecting “newbie, handle with care.” Coach Bruce Cassidy said he earned another start.
“Oh, absolutely,” Cassidy said. “He was good. Got beat with a good shot.”
Swayman’s record dropped to 5-2-0 on Sunday, but he lowered his goals against average to 1.57. He boosted his save percentage to a sparkling .946. He has allowed 11 goals on his first 205 NHL shots.
If the season ended today, would he get a chance at backing up Tuukka Rask? It’s a bit too early to say. Jaroslav Halak, the backup on Sunday, is returning from a two-week bout with COVID-19. His readiness may determine how the Bruins proceed with Swayman, whose emergence had the Bruins shipping Dan Vladar to Providence as soon as Halak came off the COVID list.
“All I care about is helping the team win,” Swayman said. “If I can do that, I’ll be able to look at myself in the mirror. … It’s a fun locker room to be a part of. It seriously is. I’m just really grateful for the experience.”
Veterans Rask and Halak, he said, have been “super supportive. I think at the end of the day they want what’s best for the team. All three of us are really pushing for each other. I couldn’t ask for much more. I’m really happy with the trio we have right now.”
Time to work on power play
Though it did not get a chance to operate on Sunday, the power play will be a point of emphasis at practice Monday in Pittsburgh.
Since the April 12 trade deadline, the Bruins have held one full practice and one optional session. That’s made it difficult, in Cassidy’s view, to get newcomer Taylor Hall integrated. Hall has shifted from the left to the right wing, and has played on both units.
Since Hall arrived, the Bruins’ 5 on 5 scoring has skyrocketed, but they are 1 for 19 on the man-advantage.
“I think practice is an issue for us,” Cassidy said. “We could sure use it. But I also think we haven’t executed to the level necessary to make plays and score.”
Some practice time could be good for David Pastrnak, who scored twice on April 3 but has two goals since. He looked sharper on Sunday (four shots, six attempts), catching a couple clean one-timers and corralling a few passes out of the air. But overall, he has not had a sharp stick this year, and has not found the powerful skating pace that helped him earn a share of the Rocket Richard Trophy last year (48 goals).
“We’re all watching the same thing,” Cassidy said of Pastrnak, who spent much of the offseason recovering from hip surgery. “He’s not finishing like he has in the past. Some of it is execution. He looks like he’s fumbling pucks much more than he ever has — why is that? — for an elite player. Sometimes, it is a little bit of confidence for him. Sometimes it could be fatigue in certain situations. Sometimes it’s a bit of luck. The puck’s bouncing on you, and you have those stretches.
“Obviously we’re going to stick with him. We know what type of player he can be when he gets hot.”
Coyle urged to attack
The pregame message to Charlie Coyle, who extended his goalless drought (Feb. 28) to 27 games: Attack more. “Charlie hasn’t scored in a long time, so I’m sure it’s affecting him,” Cassidy said of Coyle, who is producing at a career-low pace (5-10—15 in 46 games). “He’s not a Pasta or March type scorer, but he has scored in this league” … With under five minutes remaining, defenseman Matt Grzelcyk was stung on the left foot by a shot. He walked it off and returned … This game was 1:28 away from the first penalty-free regular season Bruins game since 2016 (Jan. 21 vs. Vancouver). The Bruins have played a game sans infraction two other times since 1978: March 28, 2001 at Toronto and March 6, 2014 against Washington. The Bruins have been involved in six penalty-free games since 1950 — not including the playoffs. Some fans may recall the epic Game 7 of the 2011 Eastern Conference Final against the Lightning, which was a tad more exciting than Sunday’s affair … Kevan Miller registered a game-high six hits and brought some puck-rushing offense to the table.
Matt Porter can be reached at matthew.porter@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter: @mattyports.
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