Jeremy Swayman didn’t know when it would happen, but he knew he had to be ready.
Even though Linus Ullmark’s late-season run earned him the nod for the Bruins playoff opener last week in Raleigh, N.C., coach Bruce Cassidy made it clear he would use both goalies.
After lopsided losses in the first two games of their first-round series against the Hurricanes, Cassidy turned to Swayman.
Swayman’s first start in postseason hockey came with the pressure of keeping the Bruins from falling into an 0-3 hole.
How did he prepare himself?
“The same,” he said. “All season.”
Swayman’s strength this season has been his steadiness. And the Bruins leaned on it in a 4-2 win that closed the gap in the series to 2-1.
Poised in his playoff debut, Swayman stopped 25 shots, including nine in the first period.
His calm has come to be expected in the Bruins dressing room.
“That’s his demeanor,” Cassidy said. “And I think that will change. The farther we go along, some of that will get tested, obviously, for a young guy. These are the most important games he’s probably ever played. So we’ll see. But we knew that about him.”
Swayman allowed himself to take in the atmosphere of the TD Garden crowd.
“It’s a great experience every time you walk into a full building here,” he said. “And playoffs is a whole other level.”
After giving up five goals to the Canes in each of the first two playoff games and 26 goals over five games between the regular season and postseason, the Bruins were desperate for timely stops. Swayman delivered.
“I thought he played great,” Brad Marchand said. “He made some huge saves at timely moments of the game where it could have changed the outcome. He seemed to be very composed. It’s a high pressure game tonight. We knew the magnitude of the game and he came in he was prepared.
“But I think that’s what we kind of expected from him. He’s had that all year. He has the drive and the will, the want to be a great player for this team. And I think he was excited for the opportunity.”
Forbort for the block
The Bruins killed all five of the Hurricanes’ power-play opportunities and Derek Forbort has the bruises to show for it.
Forbort blocked a career-playoff-high nine shots, including six on the penalty kill. The Hurricanes had 10 minutes with of power play time and Forbort was on the ice for 6:46.
With the Bruins holding a 3-1 lead late in the second period, Forbort blocked three straight shots by Andrei Svechnikov on a power play. He blocked the first one with his stick and took the next two off his right skate, dropping to a knee in pain, but hobbling back up to finish the shift.
“He’s one of those guys that plays a game that guys don’t want to play,” said Marchand. “He sacrifices every night for the group, puts his body in harm’s way. And those are the guys that you win with in the playoffs. You have to be able to have guys that are willing to put their bodies on the line every night and risk getting hurt every night if you want to go deep and he’s a huge reason. He blocked some really good opportunities from that team over there.”
Attendant injured
Timeout coordinator Joe Foley was taken off the ice in a neck brace and on a stretcher after a pane of glass near the Bruins penalty box was shaken loose as fans celebrated David Pastrnak’s goal in the second period.
Bruins assistant trainer Dustin Stuck rushed to his attention before additional medical staff arrived. Foley was alert as he was escorted off the ice. he received an ovation from fans and Pastrnak tapped him on the leg. The glass was replaced later in the period.
Linesman Jonny Murray collided with one of the ice makers during a break in play in the first period. He was shaken up.
Julian Benbow can be reached at julian.benbow@globe.com.