WILMINGTON (CBS) — Bruins goaltender Niklas Svedberg was asked Thursday how he “can get out of this,” as though he’s in a slump.

But Svedberg’s problem right now has very little to do with a slump he needs to work through. Svedberg’s problem isn’t poor playing; it’s not playing.

The 25-year-old, who’s in his first NHL season, has appeared in just 13 of the Bruins’ 60 games. He played one game in January and one game in February so far. He might get a chance to take at least half of the Bruins’ back-to-back this weekend on the road against the New Jersey (Friday) and at home against Arizona (Saturday).

Svedberg’s overall statistics – a .915 save percentage and 2.43 goals-against average – are on par with most NHL backup goaltenders. Still the Bruins have shown little faith in the Swede. Not only have they limited him to one game per month in 2015, they pulled him after one period from his first NHL start — which came after an AHL conditioning stint — against the Dallas Stars on Feb. 10. And then rather than giving Svedberg a couple of games to try to find a rhythm, including a game on their five-game road trip against someone like the lowly Edmonton Oilers, the Bruins summoned 21-year-old rookie Malcolm Subban. After giving up three goals on three shots in the second period to St. Louis, Subban was pulled from his NHL debut and shipped back to Providence.

So much of goaltending is based on confidence. It seems like everything the Bruins have done this season has been aimed at tearing down Svedberg’s pride.

Luckily for the Bruins, Svedberg doesn’t look at what’s happened in the same light as outside observers.

“No, I just try to worry about my own stuff and I can’t control more than playing as good as I can,” he said after practice at Ristuccia Arena. “I can’t control management and stuff like that. So that’s all their decisions and I’m not going to let it affect me too much. And you know if they’re not happy, they’re going to do something. And if they’re happy, they’re not. So that’s the business of hockey, you know. So you just try to … you got to be strong and worry about what you can control.”

Svedberg couldn’t control his playing time, but the Bruins could’ve done a better job getting a rookie acclimated to the NHL with a little more game action. Bruins coach Claude Julien, though, doesn’t think Boston might’ve screwed up by letting rust settle on Svedberg.

“I don’t think that matters right now. When I say it doesn’t matter, we’ve got to do what we’ve got to do,” Julien said. “We’ve given him some games. We have, and we’ve had to pull him. So is it our fault or is it his fault? That depends on how you want to look at it and you guys make the judgment yourselves. We’re in a situation this year where we’re battling for a playoff spot and you need sometimes to ride your No. 1 a little bit more. And some guys can handle going in once in a while and doing the job. And where Svedy has to be better at is, although he doesn’t play much, he’s got to remain sharp and when he gets in he’s got to do the job. That’s what you’re being asked to do in that position. So it’s not like we’re asking anything different than any other backup goaltender. It’s just the situation that he’s in right now.”

Svedberg has received decidedly less of a chance to establish himself, even in a backup role, than the Bruins’ backup from last season Chad Johnson. The Olympic break in February forced the schedule to be more congested in 2013-14, so that opened up a little more playing time. But Johnson, who played in 23 games by season’s end and had a 2.10 GAA and .925 save percentage, had played 18 games by the end of February last season. February was shortened by the Olympics, but Johnson got a chance to fill in when Tuukka Rask needed some post-Olympics rest.

In November, December and January of last season, Johnson played in 14 of 41 games. Svedberg played in seven of 38 games in those same months this season. And it’s not like Svedberg has played all that poorly. Playing behind a defense that was missing Zdeno Chara, Svedberg struggled with a .873 save percentage in three games in November. In three games in December he bounced back with a .930 save percentage. Svedberg has been pulled from two of his past three starts, but those games were two months apart. In between, he shut out the Devils on 14 shots

For whatever reason, the Bruins became uncharacteristically desperate for points and decided to ride Rask. The Bruins had three sets of back-to-backs in January and let Rask play both halves of two of them. The Bruins were actually out of the Eastern Conference playoff picture early in January and only had a four-point lead by the time they finished their five-game winning streak in mid-January. But for an organization that’s constantly talking about thinking “globally” (general manager Peter Chiarelli’s second-favorite word after compete), working Rask into the ground while Svedberg sits in mothballs made little sense.

And now the Bruins are paying the price. Svedberg, through little fault of his own, has become unpredictable. To his credit, he hasn’t complained and he still believes he can get the job done, even with little experience and little backing from the management and coaches.

“I wouldn’t say [I’m] used to playing in this league obviously. First full year here, I wouldn’t say used to it,” he said. “But I feel when I play my game at my best I feel I can be a good goalie at this level. It’s a matter of showing it every time you get the chance. And when you don’t play much there’s going to be a lot of focus on every game you play to try to be good. So used to it, I wouldn’t say. But I’m confident with playing the games, yeah.”

It should be the Bruins’ mandate to not waste Svedberg’s confidence and abilities and get him some more playing time soon. A successful Svedberg will lead to a rested Rask and a better chance for an actual playoff run come spring.

Matt Kalman covers the Bruins for CBSBoston.com and also contributes to NHL.com and several other media outlets. Follow him on Twitter @TheBruinsBlog.