The Bruins are set to make a change in goal this weekend, with Marco Sturm confirming that Michael DiPietro will get one start during Boston’s back-to-back in Southern California.
Sturm said after Thursday’s practice in Irvine, California, that DiPietro will start one of the two games, either Friday night against the Ducks or Saturday night against the Los Angeles Kings, according to Adam Pellerin of NESN. If the Bruins line it up the way many would expect, DiPietro could get the Kings game, which would put him on the back end of a back-to-back for the second time this season. He already had that assignment two weeks ago in a 4-1 loss to the Minnesota Wild.
Boston’s handling of the crease this season has been pretty straightforward. Sturm has leaned on Jeremy Swayman, and it’s easy to see why. The former University of Maine goalie, last year’s Vezina Trophy finalist, stopped 35 shots in Tuesday night’s 6-3 win over the San Jose Sharks in Northern California and has been carrying the load early.
DiPietro, meanwhile, has done enough to keep himself in the mix. In his first start against Minnesota, he helped keep the Bruins in the game while they trailed 2-1 through 40 minutes. That was the kind of performance that earned him the job in training camp and preseason action, even if he has appeared in only one of Boston’s first seven games this season.
The Bruins’ goaltending picture shifted back in July when they traded Joonas Korpisalo to the New York Rangers. That move came after Korpisalo had been vocal about his limited playing time in Boston, where he arrived from the Ottawa Senators as part of the return in the Linus Ullmark deal. With Swayman signed to an extension before the 2024-25 season carrying an $8.5 million AAV, Korpisalo’s path to more work was never going to open up.
For Boston, the trade made clear where things stood: Swayman is the starter, DiPietro won the backup job, and this weekend’s road swing will give him another chance to prove it under the usual grind of an NHL schedule.
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