Getting to the Stanley Cup Playoffs at this juncture shouldn't be much of an issue for the Boston Bruins.
Thanks to the team's current four-game winning streak -- immediately following an uninspiring 3-5-2 stretch -- the B's have a 96 percent chance of qualifying, per Hockey Reference, for what would be the sixth year in a row and 13th time in the last 15 seasons.
Going on a deep run late into June in what may or may not be Patrice Bergeron's last stand remains far from a given, but nights like Saturday's 3-1 win over the San Jose Sharks demonstrate just how important two players in particular will be for the Bruins in capturing an elusive second Cup in this era.
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Boston obviously needs Brad Marchand, the only remaining member of the 2011 champions along with Bergeron, to continue producing like he did against San Jose (two goals, assist). But just as important, if not more so at this point, is second-year goaltender Jeremy Swayman.
Swayman didn't have his most active night in the cage, making 15 saves on only 16 shots, but the University of Maine product stood tall when it mattered most and the Bruins hadn't quite put the middling Sharks (23-23-6) away yet.
In seven appearances (six starts) since returning from AHL Providence to accommodate the ill-fated return of Tuukka Rask, Swayman has allowed 10 goals with an impressive .944 save percentage. But after regaining his sea legs over his last five appearances, all starts, Swayman is 4-0-1 with only five goals allowed and an otherworldly .964 save percentage.
"I think it's been a great lesson for me," Swayman said of his return to the P-Bruins. "When I got sent down, to take things day by day. Ever since then, I've really emphasized taking the positives from the day before -- high or low -- and making sure it's a new day. I understand that the sun rises every day."
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True, two of Swayman's last five starts have come against the moribund Ottawa Senators, but there's also an impressive showing against the best team in hockey, the Colorado Avalanche, in which Swayman allowed just one goal on 29 shots.
Swayman has allowed one goal or fewer in four of his last five starts. Linus Ullmark, now his only competition in the crease, has just three such starts all season.
While his 23 appearances are still less than several of his counterparts, Swayman's .926 save percentage is still fourth-best in the league. At 5-on-5, Swayman's save percentage actually jumps to .932, per Natural Stat Trick, and his "high-danger" save percentage at 5-on-5 is .860, fifth among 36 qualified goalies.
After Rask's final start on Jan. 24, Ullmark started the next four games for the Bruins (2-1-1). Since then, Swayman has started six of nine.
"That's what they've asked from Linus and I both since the start, they want both of us to compete for that No. 1 job," Swayman said. "It's only going to help the team. That's all I want to do."
Moving forward, as the Bruins continue an insane stretch of 10 out of 11 games on the road, Swayman should continue to start on at least a similar pace, if not more in his favor.
Don't take Marchand's performance for granted, either. It's no coincidence that the Bruins have won each of their first two games on this West Coast swing with Marchand back from his six-game suspension; Marchand is now up to 52 points (23 goals, 29 assists) in 41 games and is tied for ninth in the league at 1.27 points per contest.
Marchand, along with Bergeron and David Pastrnak, need to hold up their end of the bargain if Swayman will even have a chance at holding his.
The Bruins would do right by both Swayman and the rest of their roster if they continued to seek out upgrades ahead of the March 21 trade deadline, ideally by adding another defenseman and another scoring threat along the wing.
In the meantime, Swayman's steadying presence between the pipes has the Bruins' once-bleak future in net looking brighter than it has since the early days of Rask's initial ascension. Above being the goalie of the future, the 23-year-old Swayman has arrived as the goalie of the present for the Bruins, too.