After Thursday’s ugly loss to the Edmonton Oilers, the Bruins bounced back this weekend with a Saturday win over the Devils and a Sunday victory over the Canadiens.

Here are three thoughts from the Bruins weekend sweep.

Jeremy Swayman is earning Bruins starting goalie job

Back-to-back sets are usually where you’ll see one goalie one night, the other goalie the next. Very rare now are the days of goalies playing on back-to-back nights.

That was a little different this past weekend as Swayman got the nod in New Jersey on Saturday and again on Sunday in Boston.

Prior to this past weekend’s games, the Bruins have seen a near 50/50 split of starts in net with Linus Ullmark starting six times, Swayman five.

But with the 22-year old getting the call in the weekend set, and continuing to perform well, I would expect Swayman to get a bulk of the starts coming up, even with a bit of a busy schedule ahead.

Swayman has surely been the better of the two goalies, posting a 2.16 goals-against average and a .914 save percentage. The rookie goaltender has five wins in seven starts and has yet to lose at home.

Things haven’t gone as smoothly for Ullmark who is 3-3 on the season with a 3.01 goals-against average and a .903 save percentage.

“That was a gut feeling,” Cassidy said of going back to Swayman on Sunday.

“The one part of having a two-headed monster in nets is now you’re trying to get two goalies going. With the amount of games we’ve had, it’s been a tough challenge for both of them to get into their rhythm. After the other night, I said, ‘Maybe we’ll get one going, then work on the other one and get him going.’ It just happened to be Swayman.”

Mike Reilly struggles land him in press box

A healthy scratch in both games this weekend, Mike Reilly hasn’t given the Bruins close to what he did after he was acquired by the Bruins at last season’s trade deadline.

What made Reilly so valuable last season was his ability to jump on pucks in his own end and quickly get them up ice and in transition. That skill in his game has nearly been non-existent.

Reilly also came in and helped the Bruins get pucks on net from their defensemen, an area they really struggled in last season. In the 15 regular season games last year, Reilly averaged 5.79 shots per 60 minutes at five-on-five. He’s down to just 4.92 in 11 games this season.

In for the scratched Reilly was Jakub Zboril who looked good over the weekend, looking like a different player than we’ve seen in his previous stints. The Bruins are off until Saturday, so it may be a few days before we find out if Reilly is reinserted back into the lineup, but based off Zboril’s weekend, the spot may be his until he gives it back.

Secondary scoring shines bright

We all know how much the Bruins offense hangs on the shoulders of their top line and number one power play unit.

When both are clicking, things are usually looking good for the Bruins. But when the Bergeron line has an off night or the power play is neutralized, depth scoring hasn’t been up to par.

That was not the case this past weekend, as the Bruins got goals from Erik Haula, Jake DeBrusk, Charlie McAvoy, Charlie Coyle and Taylor Hall. That’s in addition to a goal from Bergeron and a pair of goals from Brad Marchand.

"I think one of our mindsets today (Sunday) was just as a group to shoot more, to just get pucks on net, see what happens, just shoot. Shoot everything,” McAvoy said.

Sunday was his first career two-goal game.

The Bruins are about to embark on an 11-day stretch that features six games, four at home. A stretch of games where they hope their increase of secondary scoring continues.

Join the Discussion: » 7 Comments » Post New Comment

» The End of an Era?

» Linus Ullmark or Jeremy Swayman in Game 7?

» Home Not So Sweet Home

» Bruins Depth On Full Display In Sunrise Sweep

» Bruins Drop Game 2 After Ugly Performance