By: Julia Simone | Twitter/X @j_simone40
On Tuesday night, the Boston Bruins dropped their season opener at the hands of the Florida Panthers. Joonas Korpisalo made his Bruins debut and only stopped 29 of 35 shots. The 6’3″ goaltender found himself and his team in a hole after the Panthers put up four goals in the first period alone.
The Bruins struggled in front of their net and had many defensive breakdowns in their zone. This did not help the Finnish goaltender track down shots from the Panthers. Sam Bennett and Eetu Loustarinen would find the back of the net within a two-minute span in the first period.
With the Panthers adding another goal in the second period, the Bruins found themselves in a 5-2 hole heading into the third.
During the third, Panther’s center Sam Bennett would run into Korpisalo following Evan Rodrigues’ goal. Korpisalo had this to say to the media post-game about the heavy contact by Bennett, “just trying to focus on the puck, I didn’t really see what happened. I don’t think anyone wants to run over the goalie on purpose.” Bennett was given a two-minute minor for roughing. There was no charging penalty as officials deemed the contact to be “unintentional.”
Many Bruin fans wondered if star goaltender Jeremy Swayman would be slotted into the game after Korpisalo let in his fifth goal. Head coach Jim Montgomery did not put Swayman in despite Panther’s fans chanting, “We want Swayman.”
Korpisalo did not make a good first impression on Bruins fans after dropping this game 6-4 in Sunrise, Florida. Many fans hope to see Swayman in the net during the club’s home opener tomorrow night against the Montreal Canadiens. As of now, no starting goaltender has been announced for this upcoming game.
Going forward, will Jim Montgomery split Korpisalo’s and Swayman’s time in the net, or will he start Swayman consistently? The star goaltender recently signed a $66 million contract over the course of the next eight years. Some fans say he should be the number one guy for the Bruins. After his stellar performance this past season, he recorded a 25-10-8 record with three shutouts and a .916 SV% throughout 44 appearances.
Unfortunately, for Joonas Korpisalo the same can not be said. He recorded a 21-26-4 record with zero shutouts and a .890 SV% last season with the Ottawa Senators. Korpisalo was traded to the Bruins this past offseason after a blockbuster trade sent goaltender Linus Ullmark to the Senators.
Given those past-season numbers, Korpisalo is clearly not as good a goaltender as Jeremy Swayman. The big question for the Bruins going forward is, can this goaltender duo perform to the standards set last season by both Swayman and Ullmark? Another big question is, can Korpisalo play better than he did last season?
If the Bruins want to win this season consistently, they will need both Korpisalo and Swayman to perform to the best of their abilities night in and night out.
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