Bruins
Jeremy Swayman and Darcy Kuemper nearly traded punches on Sunday before refs intervened.
There haven’t been a whole lot of highlights to draw from in what has been a miserable 2024-25 season for the Boston Bruins.
But on Sunday, Jeremy Swayman tried to provide some fireworks by getting into a rare goalie scrap with Kings netminder Darcy Kuemper.
The temperature of Sunday’s matchup at Crypto.com Arena spiked past the midway point in the second period after Bruins forward Marat Khusnutdinov drove to the net against Kuemper.
While Khusnutdinov was whistled for goaltender interference, Kuemper clearly did not take too kindly to the Bruins forward skating into his crease — grabbing him and ripping his helmet off with his glove.
Swayman, monitoring the fracas down the other end of the ice, was not pleased with seeing an opposing goalie manhandle one of his teammates, eventually vacating his own net and jawing at Kuemper close to center ice.
Kuemper appeared ready to accept Swayman’s invitation to trade punches, with the Kings goalie skating towards Swayman, who began tossing away his stick, blocker, glove, and mask ahead of an anticipated bout.
But despite both goalies’ willingness to duke it out, a long-awaited goalie fight was snuffed out before it could begin. The refs tied up both netminders and preventing them from landing a few hooks.
Both Swayman and Kuemper were assessed penalties for leaving their respective creases, with Kuemper handed an additional infraction for removing Khusnutdinov’s helmet. Khusnutdinov’s own interference penalty evened things up.
It was an anticlimactic end to what would have been arguably the most entertaining sequence of the year for the Bruins — with Swayman and the Bruins ultimately falling to the Kings, 7-2.
“He touched one of my guys, and I think that was something that I’m not going to accept,” Swayman said postgame of challenging Kuemper. “And kudos to him. He stepped up. Just got broken up. … I think it just comes down to sticking up for my teammates.
“I don’t care who it is. It’s a guy in black and gold. You’re not going to touch him without getting contested. And I care about every one of these guys like a brother, and that’s just the way I felt. Felt like it was my turn to step up.”
Swayman is no stranger to seeking out fights with other goalies over the last few years.
In an eventual overtime win over the Canadiens in November 2023, Swayman appeared to challenge Habs goalie Sam Montembeault down the other end of the ice after a full line scrap spilled out around his net.
Just a few months later, Swayman skated out to center ice to challenge Maple Leafs goalie Joseph Woll after more post-whistle pleasantries were exchanged between Boston and Toronto.
“Probably didn’t call for it,” Swayman said of challenging Woll in March 2024. “I don’t know, I see all my guys go in — it’s a team effort. We all go in. He’s my buddy, I respect the hell out of him and his game. It was just an opportunity, but nothing happened.”
A goalie fight has not occurred in the NHL ranks since Edmonton’s Mike Smith and Calgary’s Cam Talbot got tangled up on Feb. 1, 2020, with another potential fight between St. Louis’ Jordan Binnington and Minnesota’s Marc-Andre Fleury also broken up before it could begin by the refs in March 2023.
Swayman would not have been the only Bruins goalie to drop the gloves in recent memory. Tim Thomas got into a fight with Montreal’s Carey Price during a memorable brouhaha between Boston and Montreal in February 2011.
Despite Swayman’s attempted defense of Khusnutdinov, both he and the Bruins were unable to exact revenge against the Kings on the scoreboard — with Boston dropping its sixth straight game as a result of that 7-2 loss.
“I want to give this team a chance to win every night, and I haven’t done that the last two games,” Swayman said. “So that’s something that I’m going to work on and I’m not giving up.
“I’m keeping my chin up. I’m not getting the results right now, but I owe these guys better. I owe a hell of a lot of people a lot better, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do.”
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