It is entirely possible that the Boston Bruins didn't have a goalie decision to make at all last offseason. The Bruins had Brandon Bussi perform well in Providence over the past few seasons. Still, he signed with the Florida Panthers in the offseason before eventually finding his way to the Carolina Hurricanes.
The Bruins kept Joonas Korpisalo, whether by their own decision or no other teams wanting him, which led to Bussi walking. It's hard to blame the prospect for looking for a fresh start. Bussi's decision worked out for him, as he was on fire to start the year with the Hurricanes and earned himself a contract extension.
There were points this season when the Bruins' "choosing" Korpisalo over Bussi seemed like a bad decision. Still, in the ultimate irony, it was the Finnish goaltender's performance over their former prospect that helped Boston secure a playoff spot on Tuesday night.
It was an ugly night for Jeremy Swayman, allowing five goals on 23 shots in the first half of the game, which led to Korpisalo entering the game in relief. Swayman left with the team in a 5-3 hole, which seemed insurmountable against the stingy Hurricanes team, but Korpisalo stole the show by stopping the first 16 shots he faced while the Bruins scored two goals to send the game to overtime.
Korpisalo eventually let in the deciding goal in overtime, but the Bruins wouldn't have secured a crucial point if it wasn't for his performance. In fact, if it wasn't for Korpisalo's play on Sunday to get a point against the Philadelphia Flyers, the Bruins would've left the four-game road trip with zero points, and their spot in the playoffs would be far less secure.
Brandon Bussi's poor performance vs. Bruins
Bussi struggled mightily against the Bruins on Tuesday, allowing his former team to stay in the game. The struggling Boston offense managed to put five goals past him on 21 shots, with some ugly goals along the way, including Pavel Zacha's tying goal, where he was a little too deep in his net to give himself a fair chance at making the save.
Goat line ties it, beautiful play by Mcavoy. Zacha 5-5 pic.twitter.com/RtlqxrfL2d
— Mr. Tenkrat (@PeterTenkrat) April 8, 2026
It came at the perfect time for the Bruins, despite only earning a point. The breakout game from the offense, including a hat trick from Morgan Geekie, who looked like he might be closer to the press box than scoring a goal, should serve the team well moving towards the playoffs. With Geekie's streaky goal-scoring, a run of offense from him might push Boston through a round or two in the postseason.