After what seemed like an extremely long offseason, the Boston Bruins are FINALLY back in action. Although it’s preseason action, it’s better than there being no hockey around. I wouldn’t go as far as to say that there is buzz around the Bruins, but there sure is excitement around key players and positional battles.
Among those positional battles is the one for backup goaltender between Michael DiPietro and Joonas Korpisalo. While both bring different attributes that could help the team out in more ways than one, it’s becoming increasingly more and more likely by the day that only one of them will be here at the end of camp.
The battle began on Sunday night with DiPietro starting in net for the Bruins in their first preseason tilt against the Washington Capitals. Korpisalo did not play in the contest, but it does count in front office members’ minds in terms of something to keep in mind moving forward. Here are some reactions to Boston’s first preseason contest which ended up as a 5-2 loss.
DiPietro Needs More Time With Providence
If you look at the box score, it’s evident that DiPietro needs to spend more time with Providence in the American Hockey League (AHL). Perhaps that’s a bit of an overreaction after just one preseason game, but he really did not look like himself in his first showing.
Related: Bruins Have Intriguing Backup Goalie Battle
DiPietro faced 21 shots in barely over 30 minutes on the ice. He stopped 16 of them, but allowed all five goals from the Capitals. Unfortunately, DiPietro does not have the penalty excuse to use in this instance, as the Bruins did not commit a single one all game.
Washington Capitals forward Bogdan Trineyev loses control of the puck in front of Boston Bruins goaltender Michael DiPietro (Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images)
Perhaps some of it could be because of his defensive pairings, who finished a combined minus-6 on the night, with minus-4 of that coming from Nikita Zadorov and Victor Soderstrom. Perhaps the chemistry wasn’t there, but DiPietro definitely needs some more time before he is declared the backup goaltender for Boston; that much is for certain.
How much time he needs remains to be seen.
Morgan Geekie Looks Like He’ll Be Just Fine
Morgan Geekie started the scoring when he slapped home a one-time feed from Elias Lindholm, putting the Bruins up 1-0 at the 6:17 mark of the first period.
Geekie, who signed a six-year extension in the offseason, is coming off a career season where he scored 33 goals and notched 24 assists. He will look to continue this scoring prowess in the 2025-26 season, especially considering the lack of scorers that remain on the team.
To start the season, it’s most likely going to be the aforementioned Lindholm in the top-line center role, Pavel Zacha starting on the second line at center, and Geekie likely centering the third line, if not bouncing between the top two lines in a winger-type role. Given the lack of offense in the 2024-25 season, it will be important for head coach Marco Sturm to maximize what he has in front of him in the best way possible.
There may be less talent on paper in Boston with Trent Frederic, Charlie Coyle, Jake DeBrusk and Brad Marchand now gone, but that doesn’t mean that the Bruins will sit back and take it. Geekie is evidence of that, and he showed why this season could be a bounce-back year from the jump.
Where Did Simon Zajicek Come From?!?!?
I mean, literally, Simon Zajicek came from Frydlant, Czechia, but wow, he looked good in his first professional appearance. Before you tell me to calm down and say I’m overzealous after one professional game, the man faced six shots and stopped them all.
Zajicek, who was signed to a one-year entry-level deal in the offseason, looks to play the part of a great up-and-coming netminder until Philip Svedeback leaves the NCAA ranks at Providence College and goes across town to play at the Amica Mutual Pavilion, as opposed to Schneider Arena.
In his final season with HC Litvinov – the team he played for at various levels since the 2018-19 season in Czechia – Zajicek played in 29 games where he won 15 of them, and held a 2.12 goals-against average (GAA) and .930 save percentage.
The 24-year-old definitely fills the hole that Brandon Bussi left when he signed a two-way deal with the Florida Panthers in the offseason. Perhaps the signing will put some pressure on DiPietro or Korpisalo to play better, so the Bruins do not have to potentially face putting one of, if not both, on waivers.
It May Be Just One Game, but It Sure Sets the Tone (And Not in a Good Way)
Boston may only be one game in, but given how short the preseason is, it definitely sets the tone for what the rest of it needs to be. Some years it starts out positive, others it starts out negative, and others there are building blocks that give a combination of the two. The Bruins are currently at the building blocks stage.
