ST. PAUL –– The time has finally come for Michael DiPietro.
The goaltender will start his first game as a Boston Bruin on Saturday night when they face the Minnesota Wild for an 8 p.m. ET puck drop at Grand Casino Arena.
“Not really a surprise. I got to know him a little bit last year. He came in; a very focused kid. Works extremely hard,” head coach Marco Sturm said. “He showed the last couple years how well he played in the minors. I think it was just a matter of time and timing. I think it’s the right time right now for him.”
DiPietro made the NHL club out of training camp for the first time since getting traded to the B’s organization in October 2022. The 27-year-old has spent the past three seasons with Providence in the AHL and won the Aldege “Baz” Bastien Memorial Award as the league’s most outstanding goaltender for the last two consecutive years. He posted a 1.91 goals-against average and .930 SV% through 45 games last season.
Jeremy Swayman, who made 30 saves in the Bruins’ 4-3 overtime win against the Winnipeg Jets on Friday, will get some rest.
“It’s a back-to-back, it’s traveling and we play again in 48 hours. There’s a lot to it,” Sturm said of the goalie decision. “I think Sway was unbelievable the first few games. We feel really, really comfortable with Mikey stepping in. He’s been great in preseason, and he should be good tonight.”
Saturday marks the second night of a back-to-back for Boston, which is on its first road trip of the year. The team has gotten out to a 2-0-0 start and is looking to build off of that in Minnesota, despite the quick turnaround.
Other than DiPietro starting, Sturm said there would be no lineup changes.
“I think we just have to make sure we are going to help him out,” Sturm said. “I will mention to my guys, and I just did, that we all have to help him out, too…We’ve just got to play together and help each other out.”