After giving up four goals in the second period of a 5-1 loss to the New Jersey Devils Wednesday night, Boston Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman was pulled for the third period. It was thought that he was pulled to start against the Ottawa Senators on Thursday night at the TD Garden in what is a huge back-to-back for the Black and Gold.
After the Devils game, interim coach Joe Sacco said that Swayman had been dealing with an injury. Thursday afternoon, the club announced that they recalled Michael DiPietro from the Providence Bruins in the American Hockey League (AHL), which raised a lot of eyebrows. Meeting with the media 90 minutes before the puck drop against the Senators, Sacco confirmed what was feared, Swayman is dealing with an injury.
Joe Sacco says that Jeremy Swayman is dealing with injury
Meeting with the media Thursday night, Sacco said that Joonas Korpisalo was going to start against Ottawa and that he was "cautiously optimistic" that his top netminder could return on Saturday afternoon against the Colorado Avalanche.
Sacco "cautiously optimistic" about Swayman for Saturday.
— Mick Colageo (@MickColageo) January 23, 2025
After missing all of training camp this season, Swayman is 15-16-4 after Wednesday night's loss with a 3.00 GAA and a .896 SV%. Korpisalo will get the start against his former team for the first time since the trade last June that sent Linus Ullmark from Boston to Ottawa. DiPietro, who is 14-5-1 this season with the P-Bruins with a 1.95 GAA and a .930 SV%, will back up Korpisalo.
This is a big blow for the Bruins who are hanging on by a thread in the Eastern Conference playoff race currently on the outside looking in of the second wild-card spot behind the Senators and Montreal Canadiens. It might be time for the front office to consider what they have been putting off, a retool.