Boston Bruins
“When you’re losing, you’re not getting the results you want, it’s a huge motivator. And then when you’re winning, it’s the same thing.”
For the first time in his Bruins career, Joonas Korpisalo received the starting nod in back-to-back games earlier this week against the Islanders and Sabres.
Marco Sturm’s decision to alter Boston’s goalie rotation came after a road bout on Monday where Jeremy Swayman and the Bruins were shredded by Ottawa, 7-2. While Boston’s head coach downplayed discourse over Korpisalo’s increased reps, the timing was worth noting after Swayman labored on the road in a lopsided loss.
Korpsialo made the most of his opportunity — sporting a .933 save percentage across back-to-back wins over the Islanders and Sabres.
After that overtime victory over the Sabres, Sturm was asked about whether or not Boston would continue to ride the “hot hand” in net in Korpisalo moving forward — even if Swayman was in line for a start on Saturday against the Carolina Hurricanes.
“I really don’t know,” Sturm said. “I can’t answer that right now. I gotta sleep and make my decision [Friday]. But at the start of the season, I would say no, just because we have so many games coming up and we actually have the luxury to have two really good goaltenders. So, I’m not sure yet.”
Be it that daunting workload at the start of this 2025-26 season or the optimism that Swayman was due for a bounce-back against Carolina, Sturm ultimately opted for his No. 1 netminder for Saturday’s matinee against the Canes.
And much like the rest of his Bruins teammates this week, Swayman responded with one of his best outings of the season.
The 26-year-old goalie turned aside 27 of the 28 shots that came his way en route to a 2-1 win over Carolina — Boston’s third win in a row.
“Really good. Doesn’t really surprise me,” Sturm said postgame of Swayman’s play. “I expected him to be just like he was today — outstanding.”
The Bruins’ porous defensive structure tightened up against a Carolina club averaging a league-best 3.90 goals scored per game — with Boston holding a 14-7 edge in high-danger scoring chances at 5-on-5 play.
But Swayman also excelled as Boston’s last line of defense, especially in the early goings of a contest that took 41:27 of game action for the first puck to sail into the back of the net.
Swayman was a perfect 5-for-5 on high-danger scoring chances on Saturday, including a pad stop on a rush chance from Seth Jarvis and a point-blank denial against Jackson Blake in the first period of action.
Speaking after the win, Swayman said his mindset or approach wasn’t altered by Sturm’s decision to roll with Korpisalo for two games in a row.
“Just day by day, making sure every time I’m on the ice, do whatever I can to get better, keep myself sharp,” Swayman said of how he handled his change in reps this week.” I just know whatever my name is called, gonna do whatever I can to help this team win games.”
Even with Swayman’s lackluster outing on Monday against Ottawa (16 saves on 23 shots), he wasn’t dwelling over that result or whether or not it prompted a shift in reps over the past week.
Despite that result on the road, Swayman still holds the edge over Korpisalo when it comes to save percentage (.896 to .882) and goals saved above expected (2.0 to -1.9, per MoneyPuck) — a sign that Swayman is still generally holding his own in a season where Boston’s defensive fortitude has gone through some serious growing pains.
For Swayman, getting skipped over in Boston’s goalie rotation added no additional fuel to his fire entering Saturday’s game.
“I think every day is motivating,” Swayman said. “When you’re losing, you’re not getting the results you want, it’s a huge motivator. And then when you’re winning, it’s the same thing. You’re addicted to winning.
“And I know what I need to do to help this team win games. And sometime it’ss just not your night, can’t control certain things. So park it, move forward and have that mindset of ‘Next shot.’”
Despite Swayman’s copacetic comments, the Bruins will welcome a scenario in which both a sharp Swayman and Korpisalo brews up added competition — leading to more leveled-out workload in a similar vein to the partnership struck between Swayman and Linus Ullmark over the years.
It remains to be seen if this current pairing can replicate the production forged by Boston’s previous goalie duo. But this week stood as a welcome step in the right direction for all parties.
“I think it’s great to get guys — everyone — rolling,” Swayman said of splitting reps with Korpisalo. “Him and I, again, it’s our job to help this team win games any given night, and it keeps the competitiveness high, keeps the morale high, and knowing that any given night we can win a game, whoever’s in net.”
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