The Florida Panthers hosted the Boston Bruins tonight for their season opener. Under normal circumstances, Bruins netminder Jeremy Swayman would have started the game. However, Swayman and the Bruins were involved in heated contract negotiations which resulted in the netminder missing the entirety of the preseason. Swayman and the Bruins only agreed to a contract two days ago, just before the season opener. As a result, Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery elected to go with backup netminder Jonas Korpisalo for the match. While Swayman might not be ready for NHL action after missing training camp, Montgomery still might be regretting his decision as Korpisalo gave up five goals less than halfway through the game.
Unsurprisingly, Panthers fans were elated by this development. On the night where they raised their Stanley Cup banner, their team put an exclamation point on the festivities. The fans were very appreciative of the effort, taking the huge lead as a chance to troll the Bruins by asking for Montgomery to put Swayman in.
Swayman will likely get the Bruins next game on Thursday after getting a couple of practices in with the team. However, Montgomery seems determined to keep him out of this one even as the Panthers continue to pour on the goals.
Be sure to tune in Thursday to see if Swayman gets his first start of the season against the Montreal Canadiens. Even if the team was planning on going with Korpisalo in order to give him more time to rest, they may very well reconsider after his performance tonight.
POLL | ||
OCTOBRE 8 | 127 ANSWERS Panthers Fans Chant for Boston Goalie Jeremy Swayman After Dominating Performance How many games do you think Jeremy Swayman will play for the Boston Bruins this season? | ||
<50 | 44 | 34.6 % |
50-60 | 53 | 41.7 % |
61-65 | 19 | 15 % |
>65 | 11 | 8.7 % |
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