Jeremy Swayman looks settled in after dominating start vs Kings

The contract is signed. The rust is off. The public spats are old news. Jeremy Swayman is settling in and playing.

And on Saturday, he was the Bruins' best, most valuable player.

Swayman stopped 33-of-34 shots (.971) by the Los Angeles Kings in a 2-1 overtime win in a matinée at TD Garden. He appeared to get better as the game went along, turning aside all 10 shots in the third period and stopping two more in OT.

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The Kings out-shot the Bruins 34-25 in the game, including a 16-5 advantage in high-danger scoring chances. But despite the Kings' efficient offensive attack, the Bruins played with slightly better defensive zone structure in this game than they did in a messy first two.

Breakouts are still a bit of a struggle, and the Bruins lost a lot of board battles, so Swayman faced a high volume of shots. But there was less chaos, not as many guys getting wide open behind the defense. That seemed to help Swayman lock in and do what he's supposed to do when he's able to track the puck, which is keep it out of the net.

"It just goes to show, it's what we're doing as a gameplan, clearing bodies in front, clearing sticks, making sure I'm getting that first look and I'm doing my job as well," Swayman said. "Couldn't be happier with the effort that my guys did in front of me."

Now that Swayman has finally signed his eight-year extension with the Bruins, and gotten his first game under his belt, and all the added emotions that come with that, he feels like he can simply settle in and play, and focus more on the smaller things going forward.

"There's new challenges every day that come, and that's my mindset is to simplify my world," Swayman said. "Most important thing I'm doing right now is talking to you, next one's drinking my protein shake and going to shower. It's simple things that I've been working on, and it's been a good formula for me, so I'm going to continue that."

The one goal Swayman did allow was at the tail end of a power play, technically even-strength but still in a literal 5-on-4 situation. The Bruins lost their man on this one, as Kings forward Trevor Moore found himself wide open and in the right spot at the right time for a fortuitous bounce.

The Bruins still need to strengthen their play along the boards and their decision-making with the puck in their own end, if they want to make life easier on themselves and Swayman. But Saturday was a promising reminder of why they just inked their top goaltender for $66 million.

No. 1 is likely to go between the pipes for a third straight game on Monday, when the Bruins host the Florida Panthers for another matinée game. If the Bruins can't figure out their D-zone coverage against the Florida forecheck after a sloppy season opener, it's going to be a lot harder for Swayman to snatch them another victory.

Matt Dolloff is a writer and digital content producer for 98.5 The Sports Hub. Read all of his articles here.

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