Bruins Game-Breaker: Season ends on sudden note against Panthers
The Boston Bruins’ season came to a heartbreaking end Friday night.
What could be hard to swallow for the Boston faithful is how the swan song went down. Just 1:33 to go in regulation, Panthers defenseman Gustav Forsling with a quick turn-around shot, and it just squeaks through goaltender Jeremy Swayman, who was otherwise sensational in the playoffs. Season over, just like that.
Swayman shouldered the blame for the final goal, but everyone with half a clue knows he is not deserving of blame or scorn in the aggregate. He’s by far the No. 1 reason the Bruins made it to Game 6 of the second round in the first place. If anything, his accountability when he met with reporters after the game speaks to the way he’s grown as a leadership presence at 25 years old.
“I wish I would have put the rebound in a better spot,” Swayman said. “I didn’t see the release on the second shot. There was a hole there, obviously. Unacceptable.”
Swayman was certainly hard on himself, but the real issue for the Bruins throughout this series was not the goaltender but the guys in front of him. Charlie McAvoy coughed up the puck in the offensive zone to send the Panthers the other way. Neither Jake DeBrusk nor Parker Wotherspoon were able to block either shot.
In the big picture, the Bruins’ play in their own end in front of Swayman was their undoing in the series. Regardless of how Swayman himself or anyone feels about his rebound control or his pads on the Forsling game-winner, it’s clear that he was the man that put the Bruins in position to possibly force a Game 7 against a clearly superior opponent.
“Jeremy Swayman was terrific,” said head coach Jim Montgomery. “Night in, night out, gave us an opportunity to win every night, making sensational saves. His competitiveness was something that our players and I thought our team and our bench fed off of.”
It’s quite unfortunate that the Bruins’ season came to an end on a fluky type of goal, one that the goaltender put on his shoulders. But that shouldn’t change the idea that the Bruins have a new franchise goaltender to build around and lock up for the future. That should become a major priority for Don Sweeney in the off-season.
Matt Dolloff is a writer and digital content producer for 98.5 The Sports Hub. Read all of his articles here.
