Following Wednesday’s win, Swayman is sporting a 7-2-0 record in his last nine outings to go with a .935 save percentage.
“That’s why he was back in tonight,” Bruins coach Marco Sturm said. “We, as coaches, had that feeling today that we can’t get him out of the net because he’s playing that well and he showed it again today. How calm he was — that just gives us, I would say, a little bit of extra juice. We don’t have to worry about what’s behind us.”
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The Islanders (13-9-2) peppered Swayman throughout, leaving the frozen sheet with a 45-14 advantage in shots on goal.
But Boston’s bottom-six grouping generated enough offense to keep Sturm’s club afloat.
Steeves and Tanner Jeannot both found the back of the net in the opening two periods, while Steeves went for seconds in the third period to give Boston some breathing room.
“It feels great,” Steeves — shifted to the fourth line on Wednesday — said of his first two-tally night in the NHL. “I’m not thinking I’m David Pastrnak or anything all of a sudden. But definitely, it gives me confidence.”
Boston once again ran into some penalty woes with four separate minor infractions. But the Bruins’ penalty kill unit shifted momentum back on Boston’s side — negating all four Islanders power plays and adding a shorthanded strike from Steeves in the third.
Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman is 7-2-0 in his last nine games with a .935 save percentage.Adam Hunger/Associated Press
Swayman’s strong night started on an ominous note, as a costly neutral-zone turnover by Bruins winger Matej Blumel allowed New York to land the first punch.
Shortly after Blumel’s miscue, Islanders center Mathew Barzal put his slick mitts to good use — dangling past Pavel Zacha near the crease before tucking the puck past an outstretched Swayman to make it 1-0 just 4:41 into the contest.
Blumel — slotted back into the lineup on Wednesday in hopes of adding some scoring punch — logged just 2:02 of ice time against New York. Boston ruled him out with a lower-body injury midway through the opening period.
New York’s early lead didn’t last long. Just 1:42 after Barzal lit the lamp, Steeves countered — pouncing on a puck near the blue line and knocking it past Ilya Sorokin to tie the game at one goal apiece.
Down the other end of the ice, Swayman turned aside 10 of 11 New York shots in the first — aided by a timely assist from Hampus Lindholm.
With 2:10 to go in the first, Swayman wasn’t able to properly corral a sharp wrister from Simon Holmstrom, with the skittering puck leaking through and gliding toward the goal line. The go-ahead goal was negated by Lindholm, who swept it back toward Swayman and out of danger.
A Bruins’ offense reliant on Morgan Geekie for five of their last six goals entering Wednesday night received more secondary scoring in the second.
After Mark Kastelic forced a turnover in the neutral zone, Boston’s third line went to work with Fraser Minten fishing the puck out of a mass of skaters in the slot. It landed right on Jeannot’s tape, who promptly snapped the offering past Sorokin’s glove to put Boston ahead, 2-1.
It was one of the few chances Boston managed to generate in the second, with the Bruins going nearly 11 minutes between shots on goal in the period.
After 40 minutes, New York held a 22-11 edge in shots — with Swayman stopping all 11 in the second.
The Bruins picked a good time to secure their first shorthanded tally of the season.
With the Islanders pushing in search of the equalizer in the third, Steeves took advantage of an ill-advised feed from Islanders rookie phenom Matthew Schaefer.
On the subsequent two-on-one rush, Minten managed to get Schaefer to bite on a toe drag — opening a passing lane for Minten to feed Steeves for his second goal of the evening.
“He did his job like he always does, and that’s why he has my trust,” Sturm said of Steeves, who is developing into a trusty tool in Boston’s forward corps.
New York pulled Sorokin with over three minutes left in regulation, but Swayman did not budge to close out the victory.
Despite Wednesday’s lopsided shot totals, Sturm was pleased with how Boston’s defensive structure clamped down in high-danger ice — even if it meant volley after volley of shots sailing Swayman’s way.
Over 45 minutes of five-on-five play on Wednesday, the Bruins actually matched the Islanders in high-danger scoring chances at seven apiece — even with that disparity in shot volume.
“If there was a rebound, they were clearing it,” Swayman said of the structure in front of him. “They were so aware of backdoor threats, guys without the pucks, [they] allowed me to see that first shot.”
As the Bruins return home for a Black Friday matinee game at TD Garden, more reps will likely be prescribed for Swayman as Boston’s go-to netminder.
So far, it’s been a winning recipe for a Bruins team trying to find some traction entering Thanksgiving.
“When my name is called, I want to do whatever I can to help this team win games,” Swayman added. “I know everyone in here has that same mentality. That’s the culture that we’re building.”
Conor Ryan can be reached at conor.ryan@globe.com.