Jeremy Swayman may not have taken the NHL by storm at the start of the season as some Bruins’ fans had hoped, but make no mistake, he has nudged his way into the Calder Award race as rookie of the year.

Swayman on Tuesday was named the NHL’s Rookie of the Month for February after going 5-1-1 with a .960 save percentage and a 1.13 goals-against average. Since he allowed a soft goal in a loss to Pittsburgh on Feb. 8, Swayman has stopped 169 of 174 shots for a .971 save percentage in his last six games.

Swayman, a former UMaine goalie, is now tied with Vezina Trophy front-runner Igor Shesterkin in goals-against average at 1.95, tops in the league, and is fourth in the league in save percentage at .929. He’s got three shutouts.

There was a large section of the fandom who feared that being sent down to Providence in December to make room for veteran Tuukka Rask, whose health would not allow him to continue playing, would somehow knock off his upward trajectory. That has not been the case.

As difficult as that demotion may have been for Swayman, Coach Bruce Cassidy never saw any negativity from him.

“He’s always been a kid who comes to the rink with a smile on his face, grateful for the abilities he’s been given to play professional hockey. I’ve got to say, I never saw a guy that was down, when there were three goalies around or even when he left here,” said Cassidy, before Boston’s 4-3 loss to Anaheim Tuesday night. “Inside, I’m sure he’s probably fuming (when he was sent to Providence), but that’s fine. We don’t mind that. But body language, take it home. When you come to the rink, just make sure you’re working hard to get better every day. He’s great at that. Now here he is pushing through to get the majority of the starts. Whatever’s inside, he handled it well. He went down to Providence and also played well. He didn’t pout or say, ‘I’m too good for this league,’ which can happen to guys.”

After bursting upon the scene late last season and assuming the role of the Bruins’ future goalie, Swayman started this season a little unevenly. He was good, mind you, but he had a few off-nights. Before being sent down to Providence for his brief stint, he had four starts in which he allowed four or more goals.

But lately, he’s been lights out. Rarely has a bad goal gotten behind him as of late.

Swayman has a little ground to make up in the Calder race. The Red Wings have a couple of strong candidates in defenseman Moritz Seider, who looks like a future perennial Norris Trophy candidate, and rookie scoring leader Lucas Raymond (15-27-42). Toronto’s Michael Bunting (19-22-41) has also played a big role in the Maple Leafs’ success this year.

But Swayman plays the most important position in the sport. If he can stay reasonably close to this pace, there’s little doubt he’d be worthy of a top-three vote.

CAPITALS: Winger Carl Hagelin is expected to miss an extended period of time with what the team is calling a serious eye injury.

Hagelin was struck in the left eye with an errant stick during practice Tuesday. General Manager Brian MacLellan said the 33-year-old Swede had surgery Tuesday night and is meeting with doctors about what’s next.

CANADIENS: The Montreal Canadiens will be allowed to have full capacity at the Bell Centre sooner than expected.

Quebec’s government had earmarked March 14 as the return to 100% capacity in venues across the province, but the timeline was moved up.

That means the Canadiens will be allowed to fill their arena to capacity when they host the Seattle Kraken on March 12. It will be the first time Montreal has had a capacity crowd in three months.

Proof of vaccination will no longer be required for fans attending games. Fans will, however, still be required to wear face coverings at all times while not eating or drinking.

WEDNESDAY’S GAMES

SABRES 5, MAPLE LEAFS 1: Craig Anderson made 29 saves, Victor Olofsson and Tage Thompson scored in the second period and visiting Buffalo ended a six-game losing streak.

Jacob Bryson, Jeff Skinner and Kyle Okposo also scored to help Buffalo finish off a five-game trip. Seventh in the Atlantic Division, the Sabres improved to 17-30-8 – nine points ahead of last-place Montreal.

Rasmus Sandin scored for Toronto, and Petr Mrazek stopped 26 shots. The Maple Leafs had won three in a row.

RANGERS 5, BLUES 3: Chris Kreider scored a tie-breaking power-play goal in New York’s three-goal third period and the Rangers rallied to beat visiting St. Louis.

Artemi Panarin had a goal and two assists, and Alexis Lafreniere, Ryan Strome and Patrik Nemeth also scored for the Rangers, who recovered after giving up a two-goal lead and snapped their two-game skid. Adam Fox had three assists and Igor Shesterkin finished with 28 saves to help New York improve to 5-1-1 in their last seven at home.

Ryan O’Reilly and David Perron each had a goal and an assist, and Ivan Barbashev also scored for St. Louis, which had won four straight. Ville Husso stopped 24 shots in the Blues’ first regulation loss in eight games (6-1-1).

Copy the Story Link