Swayman to Start in Second Game of B's Trip to Buffalo

BUFFALO- Jeremy Swayman will be back between the pipes on Thursday night for the middle game of Boston's three-game set with the Buffalo Sabres. Per Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy, Tuukka Rask felt some "effects" from his shutout victory on Tuesday, but nothing that was out of the ordinary.
"Just the normal wear and tear, so that's a good sign," Cassidy said ahead of an optional practice at KeyBank Center on Wednesday afternoon. "But the plan was to put him back in Friday, so we'll stick with that for now. Just a lot of high-danger stuff, more acrobatic-type, athletic saves he's been forced to make, I think, the last few games than we typically force him to do by playing better in front of him.
"We had some breakdowns in both games where he really had to come through with those. We've got to clean up our game in front of him, there's been too many."

Rask has been terrific in three starts since returning from an upper-body injury that forced him to miss all but one period over the course of 18 games. He has posted a 3-0-0 record while allowing just four goals on 88 shots.
"He's been rock solid for them, ready to go since he came out of this," said Cassidy. "You don't know when you miss that much time how long you'll need to get back. Clearly, he got back quickly or has gotten back quickly and we're obviously thankful for that.
"When he's on like that it just makes it easier for everybody to settle down and play. You don't want to rely on great saves every night, you just want to keep timely stops. Hopefully we clean it up [Thursday] night in front of Swayman and then Tuukka on Friday.
"But it sure is nice when you do get those stops, because it's gone the other way against us this year. Nice to see us getting it from our end as well."

Cassidy said that Rask will get his share of the net with just 12 games remaining as the backstop looks to ramp up his reps after missing a significant chunk of time. Whether it's Swayman or Jaroslav Halak - who has not played since April 3 after spending nearly two weeks in COVID protocol - who gets the remaining starts has yet to be determined.
"We've looked at everything there. Obviously, he's played well, Sway, we have a lot of confidence him going in there," Cassidy said of the rookie netminder, who has gone 4-1-0 with a 1.78 goals against average and .938 save percentage in five games.
"Tuukka…clearly found his game coming out of the injury. So now you've got two guys that are really on their game. Jaro, who was playing well before he went into protocol, so that's a good problem to have. Now you've got a third guy…I guess the problem we do have, would be finding enough games to get them all in the net and get them sharp, right?
"If Tuukka hadn't missed any time, played a lot of games, we might limit him, knowing that. But I think he's got to play a little bit here, coming out of that injury to get his feel back."
Cassidy went on to say that Halak "will probably not go in" this week as he continues to work on his conditioning following his extended absence.
"That's going to limit him even more," said Cassidy. "We'll work on that down the road, trying to get him sharp. Other things could happen, the way this year's gone - who knows, right?
"At the end of the day, he's working hard to get back to where he needs to be. Right now, it's Tuukka and Swayman at the moment. We'll see where Jaro ends up."

Lazar Fitting In Nicely

Curtis Lazar noticed immediately what he was stepping into when he arrived in Boston early last week. With a leadership core of Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci, and Brad Marchand pacing the way, there was no mistaking what was to be expected of the group day in and day out.
"The overall professionalism of this organization has been outstanding," said Lazar. "The leadership group with Marchy, Bergy, Krech alone - sitting down with them, talking about what the expectations are, it's black and white, there's no gray area. Definitely the bar is set, there's a standard here. I love that. It forces guys to be at their best each and every day. That's how you have a winning culture the team has here in Boston.
"For a guy like myself, I know [Taylor Hall] alluded to it in the past - we're just piece of the puzzle. And having that opportunity to come here at the deadline - it is a whirlwind, learning the systems - but at the end of the day, we're here for a reason. You go on the ice, and you just play to your strengths. It's been a pretty seamless transition. Looking forward to continuing to make some noise with this team."
Lazar has done plenty of that thus far, having tallied a goal and an assist - the helper coming on Connor Clifton's goal in Boston's 2-0 victory over the Sabres on Tuesday night - in five games, while finding some quick chemistry with Sean Kuraly and Chris Wagner on Boston's rejuvenated fourth line.
"For us new guys, including Hallsy and [Mike Reilly], it can be a little nerve-racking. You want to find your place, but the transition was so easy, so smooth," said Lazar. "You see that chemistry starting to build. I became familiar playing with Kurls and Wags on the ice.
"We all play similar styles, so I think that was something that allowed us to have that foundation right from the get-go. From there, we've been able to build off of each other. The more reps, it's going to be even better. I'm excited about our potential."

Grzelcyk Focused on Health

Matt Grzelcyk has had anything but a smooth season. The blue liner has suited up for just 26 games, having been sidelined on four separate occasions due to injury. Grzelcyk returned from his latest absence with an upper-body injury on Tuesday night and played over 21 minutes without incident.
"It's been a little challenging," said Grzelcyk. "As a competitor, you want to be out on the ice, especially trying to gear up for the playoffs now. It's been an uncomfortable spot to be in and sit back and have no control of the situation. Just trying to stay as positive as I can and make sure that I'm doing the right things in order to stay healthy the rest of the way. That's my main focus now."

On the Injury Front

• Per Cassidy, Brandon Carlo (upper body) has begun skating on his own back in Boston. Ondrej Kase continues to skate as well.
• Injured blue liners Jarred Tinordi, Kevan Miller and Steven Kampfer all took part in Wednesday's optional practice at KeyBank Center. "We're getting much healthier on the back end," said Cassidy.
• Clifton also skated on Wednesday after taking a scary head-first fall into the boards on Tuesday night. "That was very concerning when it happened, but bounced back, finished the game, so good for him," said Cassidy. "No residual effect there."