Bruins
With Jeremy Swayman still unsigned, the Bruins are preparing for veteran goaltender Joonas Korpisalo to be the person between the nets in Boston's season opener on Oct. 8 in Florida.
“Where we are in camp right now and how well camp went and how well Korpisalo performed, he will now be our starter for Game 1,” Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery said on the team’s season-opening conference conference Monday.
Such a scenario likely would have raised the collective heart rate of Bruins fans just a couple of months ago, considering how shaky Korpisao was in net against the Senators within the 2023-24 season.
Acquired from Boston as a part of the deal that sent Linus Ullmark to Ottawa, Korpisalo was initially viewed as a possible reclamation project for Bruins goaltending coach Bob Essensa. The 30-year-old Korpisalo was arguably the worst starting goaltender within the NHL last yr – posting a record of 21-26-4 with a save percentage of .890.
Given Boston's stingy zone defense and Essensa's track record of revitalizing the careers of veteran goaltenders, the Bruins were ideally betting that Korpisalo would function a stable backup option behind Swayman in 2024-25.
But for now, the Bruins could have to assume that Korpisalo is the person to guide the team in eight days on the ice at Amerant Bank Arena.
Even if Swayman puts pen to paper next week, Montgomery stressed that the Bruins may not have time to get the 25-year-old goaltender on top of things before the beginning of the regular season.
“The longer you can go without seeing NHL shots and the longer you can go without seeing that kind of pace and tempo in front of you, be it a 5-on-5 duel like we did every practice , or the replay of games, the … further back you get pushed,” Montgomery said. “And that's why I made the point that, let's say a deal gets done (with Swayman) tomorrow, the only possibility is that there are two practices before (opening night).
“Korpisalo has done a really good job and we have confidence in him. That’s why I referred to him starting Game 1.”
It was a small selection, but Korpisalo has had promising results to this point in pre-season with Boston.
In two appearances with the Bruins, Korpisalo has stopped 44 of the 47 shots that got here his way – for a goals-against average of 1.91 and a save percentage of .936.
The nine-year veteran made a good preseason debut with Boston last Tuesday, stopping all seven shots that got here his way over 29:39 of ice time within the Bruins' 4-2 win over the Capitals.
His last outing was way more grueling, as Korpisalo stopped 37 of 40 shots in Boston's 3-2 additional time loss to the Flyers on Saturday. With Philadelphia allowing seven power plays in the sport, the veteran goalie needed to endure several high-profile scoring opportunities – he finished with 13 dangerous saves on a complete of 14 shots from Class A areas.
“He was really good. He reads the piece quickly. He comes across on the seam plays,” Bruins coach Montgomery said of Korpisalo immediately after Saturday’s game. “He comes out of the top of the crease and doesn’t give people much to look at. Either they hit him right in the gut or they shoot up because – given his size – he doesn’t give up much to see the net.”
On Monday, Korpisalo refused to anticipate what could be required of him within the season opener in Boston on October eighth.
“No one has told me anything yet,” he said. “I just take it day by day and do my best every day. You never know what will happen. If that's it? So be it. I’m ready to play.”
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