By: Ellie Man | Follow me on Twitter/X @ellieyym
Jeremy Swayman has long since earned his nickname, ‘Bulldog.’ As the Boston Bruins’ number one goaltender, he’s fierce out on the ice and remains eager to play as many games as he possibly can. But is the team over-relying on Swayman’s resilience?
A leaky defense has been at the core of many of the Bruins’ issues during this season, seeing high numbers of puck turnovers and lapses in zone coverage. Paired with a recent offensive slog, the pressure has fallen onto the team’s goalies.
Swayman has made numerous big saves when it matters most, keeping the B’s in contention whenever their defense starts to slip again. The 6’3”, 195-pound Alaskan has been a force to be reckoned with this season, recovering from a slip in form last year to come back strong. The 27-year-old has posted a record of 30-17-4, with a 2.77 goals-against average and a .906 save percentage. Both fans and the team itself will be looking for more of this sturdy effort with the season’s remaining games against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Columbus Blue Jackets, and New Jersey Devils coming up fast.
With a shaky start to the year, Joonas Korpisalo’s figures pale in comparison. The 6’4”, 200-pound goaltender has a 3.19 goals against average and 0.892 save percentage. As a result, the 31-year-old has seen much less ice time, starting 27 games across the season (13-9-6). Notably, both goalies have achieved one shutout each.
The burning question remains whether or not the Bruins are underutilizing Korpisalo. According to MoneyPuck, the Finn ranks 54th in the league out of 94 goalies. This placement demonstrates Korpisalo’s inconsistency; unable to find a rhythm in the net, but not necessarily giving away easy chances either.
In the Bruins’ most recent loss in a four-game skid, the team took on the Carolina Hurricanes with Swayman as the starting goalie. Despite Morgan Geekie breaking his 17-game goal drought, the team’s gameplay looked worse for wear. The B’s saw eight minutes in the penalty box, and Swayman let in three goals in three minutes and 16 seconds to give the Hurricanes five in total. Swayman was pulled soon after, and Korpisalo took on the role of a solid barrier for the team as he blocked all remaining 16 shots made in regulation.
Though the Bruins lost in overtime as Jaccob Slavin snapped the puck home, the B’s earned one point, which remains important in the ongoing playoff race. Swayman undeniably had a rough shift against the Hurricanes, but the conversation remains on the lackluster performance of the team in front of him that allowed the gates to open in the first place.
How the game would’ve ended had Korpisalo started in the net remains unknown, but his time on ice proves that he had what it takes to hold his own against the Metropolitan Division leaders. Korpisalo firmly remains the Bruins’ number two goalie, but has shown his ability to change the momentum of games throughout the season.
The team has needed the Finnish goalie to help them get to the playoffs, and with only three games left in the regular season, he is close to having done just that. But with a struggling back end, keeping their championship dreams alive might prove a bigger task than anticipated, especially if Swayman begins to crumble under the weight of the team’s fragile defense. With the Wild Card spot exceedingly close to being in the bag, the Bruins might need to turn to Korpisalo once more to close out the season strong – and send an important message.
Leave a Reply