The Boston Bruins’ interim head coach, Joe Sacco and GM Don Sweeney realized their roster was beyond repair. So as the team obliterated the 2024-25 lineup, even trading 16-year veteran Brad Marchand for fresh faces, the aim was to revitalize the lineup, mostly to reap the benefits in the next season. Yet, things don’t seem to be going in the right direction no matter what they do.

This time, trouble came knocking at Boston’s doorstep as poor goaltending against the Senators. Goalie Jeremy Swayman, who held out until October 2024 before he and the team solved their contract-related woes, let in not one, not two, but four goals in the first period tonight. Already coming in with an SV % below .900, experts raised their fingers at Coach Sacco.

“I don’t see how Swayman starts the second, but then again, I’m not the coach — interim or otherwise,” posted NESN’s Boston Bruins reporter Gayle Troiani. In a dismal goaltending display, Swayman conceded four goals out of just 15 shots in the opening period. Thankfully, Joe Sacco saw things for the way they were, and benched Jeremy Swayman after the first period.

Joonas Korpisalo skated onto the ice after the disastrous first half and tried his best to stop the bleeding. Unfortunately, Korpisalo conceded two goals in the second and third periods, respectively. While that may seem like a stellar performance compared to Swayman’s train wreck, the Boston Bruins were just too stunned to recover.

Their offense could only muster three goals in response to Brady Tkachuk‘s side scoring six. Meanwhile, reporter Jimmy Murphy doubted if Joe Sacco would pull Swayman after that first period. “It’s happened too many times this season,” when the Bruins coach kept Swayman on during similar situations. You’ll have to look as recently as their January game with Ottawa to see what Murphy was talking about.

During that game, Swayman’s bad decision ultimately cost the Boston Bruins the game. With the Bruins in the lead (5-4), the ice hockey player attempted to score an empty net goal. Unfortunately, Josh Norris gloved the shot and scored the equalizer. Ottawa eventually won the game 6-5 in the shootout. Yet, why is everything going so wrong?

No end to Jeremy Swayman and the Boston Bruins’ woes

The Bruins showed they still had a fight left after making sweeping changes near the end of the trade deadline. Unfortunately, it took a little over 9:00 in the first period for Ottawa to extinguish that fire when Tyler Kleven scored the Senators’ third goal. The loss once again derailed the Bruins from winning three games in a row. Something they’ve struggled to do since December 2024.

Meanwhile, through this season, a contract standoff and consistency issues have plagued the otherwise priming Swayman. The holdout earlier in the season caused the goalie to miss out on the Boston Bruins training camp. While he finally signed a $66 million deal with the Boston Bruins, the NHL star has been rusty ever since his comeback.

For example, Swayman achieved an impressive .928 SV% in their last game, before conceding four out of 15 shots tonight. Unfortunately, a path to the Stanley Cup playoffs now seems impossible, with just 15 games left till the end of the regular season. With powerhouses like Brad Marchand gone, and several new players arriving, the chemistry also seems to be a hit-and-miss.

Coach Joe Sacco acknowledged Swayman wasn’t the only one responsible for the loss against Ottawa. “We just weren’t good enough in most of the facets in the first period… Our execution wasn’t quite there, we weren’t sharp, our passing was off,” admitted the interim head coach. So, will the Boston Bruins’ free fall end anytime soon? Only time will tell, and it’s time that the Bruins don’t have; it’s time lost.