Joonas Korpisalo has played in 26 games this season. It’s substantially lower than his 55 games between the pipes last year for the Ottawa Senators.
The goalie knew he would be the backup to Jeremy Swayman when Ottawa traded him to the Boston Bruins in the summer.
Korpisalo, who was statistically one of the NHL’s worst goalies during the 2023-24 season, had a 2.89 goals-against average going into his Sunday start against the Buffalo Sabres — his first since March 26.
“There’s times I’ve been sitting for quite a bit and not playing. But it’s not up to me,” Korpisalo told reporters after Boston’s 6-3 loss. “I try to do everything I can everyday to stay ready and whenever it’s game-time, just give 110% and help the team.”
At one point in the season, it looked as if there was going to be a goalie conundrum. Swayman struggled out of the gate to find a groove, but Korpisalo had played well when given the chance.
After the Bruins traded Linus Ullmark to the Senators and gave Swayman and long-term contract, that paved the way for him to be Boston’s No. 1 goalie.
Despite Swayman’s struggles, he needed to get playing time in and get used to the workload. So Korpisalo watched from the bench more than he played between the pipes, but has made sure to be ready when called upon.
Korpisalo made 31 saves in the loss. The Bruins’ shortcomings can’t all be pinned on him, though. There was some miscommunication between Fabian Lysell and Fraser Minten that allowed Rasmus Dahlin to tie the game in the second period.
Despite the loss, Bruins coach Joe Sacco isn’t blaming Korpisalo.
“Korpi came in and gave us a solid game,” Sacco said. “Second period saw a lot of action, third period we let guys get in behind us. So, I thought Korpi did his job tonight.”
The second period woes also continued to haunt the Bruins as the Sabres scored three goals en route to the win.
“We just weren’t good enough in the second, and in the third, just soft,” Elias Lindholm, who scored in his third straight game, said. “It’s not good enough. … We’ve been pretty bad in the second period. Usually, we get off to a good start and in the second we fall apart a little bit. It’s tough to win games when stuff like that happens so it’s something that obviously we can do better.”
