Jeremy Swayman probably wanted a chance to redeem himself after giving up a juicy rebound on the Rangers’ second goal Friday afternoon. He got it just 26 seconds later, and came up with a save-of-the-year candidate.
With the Rangers looking to quickly strike again and take the lead, a semi-broken play resulted in the puck falling right to Mika Zibanejad alone on the doorstep. Zibanejad appeared to have a wide-open net, but Swayman lunged across and made an incredible play to just get the paddle of his stick on the shot and keep it out.
The save kept the game tied 2-2, which remained the score heading to the third period.
If the save looks familiar, you’re not alone in thinking back to Tim Thomas in the 2011 Eastern Conference finals against the Lightning.
Also, this wasn’t even Swayman’s first diving stick save of the game. He made one in the first period as well, when Kaapo Kakko collected a rebound in the slot and appeared to wait out Swayman enough to give himself an open net. But, as he would against Zibanejad, Swayman recovered in time to get his stick in the way.
Unfortunately for Swayman and the Bruins, things fell apart in the third period and they ended up losing 5-2.