Marco Sturm confirmed this morning that Jeremy Swayman starts in goal for the Bruins tonight against the Canadiens at TD Garden.
It's Homecoming night, and the standings give it extra weight. Boston is 13-4-1 and first in the Atlantic, with Montreal one point back at 26 and arriving with a freshly confirmed starter of its own.
The Bruins' own account put it in three words, "It's Sway Day!"
A Bruins reporter relayed the same word from Sturm, who didn't leave any room for doubt.
Across the ice it's Jacob Fowler, the 21-year-old the Canadiens picked over Samuel Montembeault. As we covered earlier today, Montreal's choice of Fowler over Montembeault was the first piece of tonight's puzzle. Swayman is the second.
The confirmed starters list also carries each goalie's recent form over his last five games.
Fowler is 3-0-2 with a 2.57 GAA and a .925 save percentage. Swayman is 3-2-0 with a 2.58 GAA and a .907 save percentage. The goals-against figures are almost identical, and the gap shows up in the save percentage.
Does Swayman's recent form worry the Bruins?
It shouldn't, and Sturm clearly doesn't think so. A .907 over five games is a notch below Fowler's mark, but Boston is 8-1-0 at home and carries a four-game winning streak into the building. When the team in front of him is playing like that, you ride your guy.
Sunday made the decision easy. Swayman stole the game against Florida in a 4-1 win, and the Bruins reward that kind of night. Michael DiPietro is the backup, and he stays on the bench unless something goes wrong.
Montreal has its own case. The Canadiens are 7-0-3 over their last 10 and come in off a 2-1 overtime loss to Minnesota on Tuesday. That one stung, and they'd love to get it back against the team sitting above them.
The two clubs last met on March 17, 2026, and Montreal won 3-2 in overtime on home ice. Sturm made it clear Wednesday how much this rivalry means to him, and tonight the Bruins get a first chance at some payback.
This article was written with the help of artificial intelligence, based on public reports and official sources.
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