Jeremy Swayman Could Lead Bruins to Unlikely Playoff Run

The Eastern Conference playoff race is neck and neck with a bunch of teams, and the Boston Bruins are holding on because of their goaltender.

Mar 3, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman (1) makes a save off his houlder during the second period against the Pittsburgh Penguins at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-Imagn Images | Winslow Townson-Imagn Images

The Boston Bruins are in a tight race in the Atlantic Division with teams like the Buffalo Sabres, Tampa Bay Lightning, Montreal Canadiens, and the Detroit Red Wings. The Bruins currently occupy the Eastern Conference's last wild card playoff spot after defeating the LA Kings in overtime and raising their season point total to 78, which is just ahead of the Columbus Blue Jackets who have 76.

And recently the games that the Bruins have won and gotten 2 points in, should be in large part thanks to their goaltender Jeremy Swayman. So far in March, Swayman sports a 1.00 goals-against-average and a .959 save percentage.

Getting those kinds of stats from your superstar gold medal winning goaltender is more than good enough to get his team into the playoffs. It is going to be an uphill battle for the Bruins to make the playoffs, but if anyone has a say whether that is going to happen or not, it is going to be Swayman.

It seems like the Bruins most games have serious defensive breakdowns, or their players are not scoring enough goals. But if they have Swayman in net on most nights, they are always going to have a chance to get points and stay in the playoff race.

If Boston makes the playoffs over either Columbus or Detroit, look for goaltending to be why

The Bruins are only 2 points back of the Red Wings for the first wild card playoff spot in the East and are only 2 points ahead of the Blue Jackets. But if the Bruins happen to make the playoffs and one of Detroit or Columbus do not, the Bruins goaltending will be the story.

The Red Wings' current starter is John Gibson but Gibson has not made the playoffs in a very long time as he was stuck on an Anaheim Ducks team that has not made it in years. And the Blue Jackets starter is Jet Greaves who does not have current playoff experience yet.

Feb 26, 2026; Ottawa, Ontario, CAN; Detroit Red Wings goaltender John Gibson (36) is seen during the first period against the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre. Mandatory Credit: Keito Newman-Imagn Images | Keito Newman-Imagn Images

Swayman has the most playoff experience out of the 3 of them and can come up clutch in big games late in the regular season. That's not to say that Gibson or Greaves are not going to be able to figure it out for their teams, as Columbus is on a hot streak and Detroit is doing just enough right now.

But with Swayman being the more experienced goaltender over the two, Boston keeping their playoff spot the rest of the year is contingent on him. Plus Columbus has been trying to climb out of a hole for a while now where they were far out of the playoff picture, Boston has been sitting pretty for a while.

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