The Boston Bruins are ruining a great season from Jeremy Swayman by continuing to play him while Joonas Korpisalo sits on the bench. Those statements may seem counterproductive, but the Bruins' unwillingness to give Korpisalo starts is directly contributing to a couple of dreadful starts from their starting goalie.
There have been three times this season when Swayman made four starts in a seven-day stretch. While most teams would mix in a start for the backup goalie during that span, new head coach Marco Sturm has completely lost trust in Korpisalo. On that fourth game of the stretch, Swayman owns a 0-2-1 record with a .795 save percentage.
Jeremy Swayman when making his fourth appearance in seven days this season: 0-2-1 record, 16 goals allowed on 78 shots (.795 save percentage).
— Ty Anderson (@_TyAnderson) January 7, 2026
A .795 save percentage isn't just a bad stat. That number is approaching that of an above-average beer league goalie who still takes his playing just a little bit seriously. For a team that is fighting and clawing for every point they get this season, putting their goalie in that situation is malpractice, and it isn't just on Sturm.
Don Sweeney has to make the executive decision to recall Mikey DiPietro and give him a couple of starts. There is barely any harm in seeing what they have in the young goaltender when Korpisalo isn't playing anyway. The one issue could be putting the goaltender back through the waiver wire, which, in that case, maybe Simon Zajicek, who would be exempt, is the correct option.
The fact of the matter is that there has to be a better option than Korpisalo. While he had some good starts this season, it's clear that Sturm doesn't want to use him and will run Swayman into the ground to avoid it.
The writing is on the wall for Korpisalo. He didn't make Finland's Olympic team, has a 3.60 goals-against average and a .882 save percentage this season, and public complaints about his playing time in the offseason didn't lead to any improvement on that front.
Boston must find a way to give Swayman more rest and get a competent backup goalie in the crease. Whether it's giving Korpisalo some time off to rediscover his game and eventually bringing him back, or just cutting bait entirely and going with one of the AHL guys. It has to happen now if the Bruins want to save their season, as they can't afford to punt every fourth game when Swayman is tired.