As they inch toward Sunday’s scheduled arbitration hearing, the Bruins and restricted free agent Jeremy Swayman are $2.8 million apart on what they think the 24-year-old goalie is worth.

In the pre-hearing filings, the B’s offered $2 million while Swayman’s camp came in at $4.8 million, according to Sportnet’s Elliotte Friedman.

Unlike baseball arbitration, which calls for the awarding of one number or the other, a middle ground can be found in NHL arbitration.

That’s what happened in a comparable arbitration case last week with Toronto goalie Ilya Samsonov. The Maple Leafs had an offer of $2.4 million and Samsonov’s camp filed at $4.8 million. The arbitrator gave Samsonov a $3.55 million salary.

In 37 appearances last season, Swayman had a 24-6-4 record with a .920 save percentage and 2.27 goals against average. Swayman’s career marks are 54-23-7, .920 and 2.24. Samsonov’s record last season was 27-10-5 with a .919 save percentage and 2.33 GAA. For his career, Samsonov is 79-32-13 with a 2.65 GAA and .909 save percentage.

The two sides can negotiate a deal right up until the time of the hearing.

Considering arbitration is rarely relished by either the player or management side (relationships can be damaged in the process) and the fact that there’s a fairly clear comparable in the Samsonov award, one would think that the two sides could get together on a deal before the hearing.

Then again, with the B’s facing a salary cap crunch – they have approximately $5.4 million of cap space available — every dollar counts, especially if they’re contemplating taking on any more salary in a potential trade for a centerman with the departure of retired centerman Patrice Bergeron..

The B’s also have to contend with Trent Frederic’s arbitration case, which is scheduled for August 1. After a 17-goal season, he’ll be looking for a raise from his $1.05 million salary he made last season.