When Joonas Korpisalo recorded the Boston Bruins first shutout of the 2025-26 season on Sunday night in a 1-0 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins, it put pressure on Jeremy Swayman to even the score with his backup.
It took just two days for the former University of Maine standout to match Korpisalo as he turned back all 24 shots from the Detroit Red Wings at the TD Garden on Tuesday night in a 3-0 victory. He was aided by goals from Pavel Zacha, Fraser Minten, and Mark Kastelic. When asked about his shutout, Swayman complimented his backup.
“Korpi got it done [last game]. He’s just the best. We got the monkey off our back, and I’ve got to keep up with him,” Swayman said. “That’s awesome that we have that high competitiveness. And again, shutouts aren’t done without the boys in front of us, so huge credit goes to them for getting the job done tonight.”
Who gets the start on Thursday night when the Seattle Kraken come to town for the second match-up in nine days remains to be seen. Boston has won six out of their last seven games and will be looking for some revenge for a 7-4 loss at the hands of the Kraken in Seattle just nine days ago.
Former Bruins forward frustrated with losing streak
One team that is certainly going to be in the mix for Gavin McKenna with the No. 1 overall pick in June's NHL Entry Draft is the Vancouver Canucks. After losing their eighth straight game with a 2-1 loss to the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday night, frustration is setting in with former Boston first-round pick Jake DeBrusk. After the loss, he had some interesting things to say.
“I mean, we're losing, we’re the last-place team in the league,” DeBrusk said. “We’ve lost (eight) in a row; there's going to be some talk. I think that just becomes the business side of it. Honestly, I don't know if guys are thinking about it; we haven't talked about it.”
Losing eight straight games and they haven't talked about it?
“Am I thinking about it? No, I'm thinking about what we need to do to win a game. You only control so much, right? So no, I'm not thinking about it. It's hard not to when you just look at the standings, (but) I'm learning through this. Obviously, it doesn't affect me the best. It doesn't affect anyone the best. We all want to get out of this together.
“For me personally, I've never gone through this before. I feel like I keep saying that, but yeah, we’ve got to figure it out quick. We got back in the win column and feel good about something. I’ve never lost this many games in a row in my life. You feel it.”
Seems like there is a lot of soul-searching to do within the Canucks locker room, and there is also likely to be some movement at the trade deadline.
Devils taking phone calls
One of the more disappointing teams this season is the New Jersey Devils. Expected to be part of the Eastern Conference playoffs again, they are like a lot of teams and stuck in the middle of a compacted wild-card race. There have been trade rumors lately surrounding former Bruins defenseman Dougie Hamilton. GM Tom Fitzgerald is reportedly taking calls on Hamilton and some other players.
"His agent and I have been in constant communication, so there's no secrets," Fitzgerald said. "There's no lost in translation, whatever it is. Just want to make sure everybody's hearing the same message."
After years of rumors and speculation, it feels like Hamilton will be moved out of New Jersey at some point.