Jeremy Swayman Keeps His Promise, Bruins Fight On Against Panthers

SUNRISE — Boston Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman said his Boston Bruins were going to come to Florida and beat the Panthers on Tuesday night.

He was a huge reason why they did.

The Boston goalie, who pulled a Matthew Tkachuk following the Bruins’ 3-2 loss in Game 4 on Sunday, was absolutely terrific in Game 5.

“The reality is that we’re going to go to Florida,” Swayman said Sunday, “and we’re going to play the same game. We’re going to get it done. I have no doubt about this group. We have a lot of confidence and a lot of motivation to bring it back to Boston because our fans deserve a lot better. We’re excited to do that.”

His save on Sam Reinhart with 6 seconds left is probably the reason the Bruins flew home today — and have another game to prepare for.

Reinhart took a cross-ice pass from Brandon Montour as he stood at the mouth of the goal; Swayman went down and made the blocker save and that was it for the Panthers.

Had Reinhart scored to tie the game in the final seconds and force overtime, the likelihood of Florida winning that game was pretty high.

But Swayman stood tall and now they’re all headed back to Boston for Game 6.

“We have a goaltender that’s extremely confident,” Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said. “His swagger gives confidence.”

Swayman’s confidence was on full display in the third period as Florida went 0-for-10 against him.

On the flip side, Sergei Bobrovsky made 26 saves as he kept the Panthers in it until the end.

“Those are two elite goalies,’’ Florida captain Sasha Barkov said. “When they are on their game, it is fun to watch and hard to play against. It is fun to watch Bob, hard to play against him. Good goalies and there is a lot of reason people talk about them.’’

Reinhart was the only one to score on Swayman in the game, making it 1-1 in the second on an incredible shot while tightly defended.

“I couldn’t be happier,’’ Swayman said after the game.

Neither could the Bruins.

“The only thing that matters to me is the guys out there in the black-and-gold,’’ Swayman said. “When I focus on the simple things like that, I could not be more dialed in. I would run through a wall for these guys, I would do anything I could to make a save for these guys. That’s all I care about out there. It is really special to get wins like that.’’

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STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS

EASTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS

FLORIDA PANTHERS (ATL1) V. BOSTON BRUINS (ATL2)

FLORIDA LEADS BEST-OF-7 SERIES 3-2

GAME 6

• When: Friday, TBA
• Where: Boston Garden
• National TV: ESPN or TNT/TBS
• Streaming: ESPN+/Hulu or HBO Max
• Radio: WQAM 560-AM; WPOW 96.5-FM2; WBZT 1230-AM (West Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); WCZR 101.7-FM (Treasure Coast); SiriusXM
• Panthers Radio Streaming: SiriusXM 932, NHL app
• Series Schedule — Game 1: Bruins 5, Panthers 1; Game 2: Panthers 6, Bruins 1;Game 3: Panthers 6, Bruins 2; Game 4: Panthers 3, Bruins 2; Game 5: Tuesday at Florida; Game 6: Friday at Boston, TBA; Game 7*: Sunday May 19 at Florida TBA. (*) – If Necessary 
• How They Got Here: Florida d. Tampa Bay Lightning 4-1; Boston d. Toronto Maple Leafs 4-3
• Last Season vs. Boston — Regular Season: Tied 2-2; Playoffs: Florida won 4-3 (first-round)
• This Season (Bruins 4-0) — At Boston: Bruins 3, Panthers 2 OT (Oct.30); Bruins 3, Panthers 2 OT (Ap. 6). At Florida: Bruins 3, Panthers 1 (Nov. 22); Bruins 4, Panthers 3 (March 26).
• All-time Regular Season Series: Boston leads 64-37-7, 6 ties
• All-time Postseason Series: Florida leads 2-0 (1996 1st, 2023 1st)