Boston Bruins
“It was not his fault today, I can tell you that. I felt bad for him.”
Jeremy Swayman was not thrilled after getting the hook in Game 4. AP Photo/Charles Krupa
April 26, 2026 | 7:18 PM
2 minutes to read
On an afternoon where the Bruins’ defense splintered in front of him, Jeremy Swayman was put in front of a Sabres’ firing squad throughout Game 4 at TD Garden.
He was tagged for four goals in the first 20 minutes of the game, with Buffalo outshooting Boston, 19-5, and holding a whopping 34-14 edge in shot attempts. All four of Buffalo’s tallies came off turnovers, with Boston knocked for 10 total giveaways in the first period.
When both Beck Malenstyn and Alex Tuch lit the lamp just 1:24 apart in the third period, Swayman got the hook — with Bruins head coach Marco Sturm turning to Joonas Korpisalo to mop up the rest of a miserable 6-1 loss to Buffalo.
Swayman — who was tagged for six goals allowed over 29 total shots — did little to mask his anger as he made his way off the ice.
Before heading down the tunnel to the Bruins’ locker room, cameras captured Swayman yelling at Boston’s bench before leaving the game.
Speaking after the loss, Marco Sturm had little issue with his goaltender showing some “fire” — as described in the question posed to the bench boss.
“Absolutely, at least one guy [had fire], right? It was not his fault today,” Sturm said of Swayman. “I can tell you that. I felt bad for him. That’s why we kept him in there for a while, because he’s a battler leader. He wants to be in.”
Swayman has been one of the few positives for the Bruins in a first-round series where they have largely taken on water in the defensive zone.
Even with Buffalo yet to cash in on a power-play tally through four games, the Sabres have outscored Boston, 12-6, at 5-on-5 play and hold a 95-57 advantage in scoring chances over that stretch.
Swayman is 1-3 so far in four games against Buffalo with a .900 save percentage, with those numbers taking a massive hit after Sunday’s loss.
In his last 16 playoff games, Swayman is sporting a .924 save percentage. The Bruins are 7-9 in those games.
“Both of our goalies have been rock-solid for us all year, and I think they haven’t left us out to dry in one game this year,” Hampus Lindholm said postgame. “They’ve been really playing in front of us. And I think they deserve more from us, and we just have to look … in the mirror, and go out there and put on a team effort, because the only way out of this is together.”
The Bruins will need to lean on Swayman again on Tuesday as Boston tries to keep its season alive in Game 5 in Buffalo. Puck drop from KeyBank Center is set for 7:30 p.m.
Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.
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