For the Boston Bruins to return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2026 after finishing with the NHL’s fifth-worst record last season, they needed Jeremy Swayman to have a bounce-back campaign.

And Swayman has actually played quite well through the first 37 games of the season.

He has a 14-9-1 record with a .906 save percentage and a 2.78 GAA. Those stats don’t jump off the page, but context is important: The Bruins rank 30th or worse in shot attempts allowed, shots on net allowed, scoring chances allowed and high-danger chances allowed, per Natural Stat Trick.

The Bruins are defending poorly, and Swayman is bailing them out more often than not. For proof: Swayman ranks No. 4 among all goalies with 16.5 goals saved above expected, per MoneyPuck.

Swayman performance hasn’t been a problem, even if his December stats have regressed a bit from his stellar November numbers.

The backup goalie situation is an actual concern for the Bruins — one that has already cost them a bunch of points in a tightly contested Atlantic Division race.

Joonas Korpisalo has played poorly this season. There’s no other way to describe it. He is 6-7-0 with a .880 save percentage and a 3.63 GAA. The Finnish netminder ranks 77th out of 83 goalies with minus-4.5 goals saved above expected. He has allowed four or more goals in four of his last six starts, including Sunday night’s 6-2 defeat to the Ottawa Senators during which he gave up five goals on 17 shots in just 26:31 of ice time.

The best-case scenario for the Bruins is that Korpisalo turns it around and plays better. But his on-ice performance would suggest the chances of that scenario unfolding are not high. He has yet to put together back-to-back starts allowing two or fewer goals this season. He’s also on pace to tally a sub-.900 save percentage for the third straight year, so it’s not like his disappointing play is a new trend.

What if Korpisalo’s struggles continue?

There aren’t a ton of great options. Trading him would be difficult given his lackluster performance and his burdensome contract that doesn’t run out until after the 2027-28 season and carries a $3 million salary cap hit.

The Bruins could promote one of the two Providence Bruins goalies — Michael DiPietro and Simon Zajicek — to the backup role. DiPietro, who was the AHL’s top goalie last season, is more NHL-ready than Zajicek. He’s also having another strong season for Providence with a 10-4-0 record, a .933 save percentage and a 1.97 GAA.

DiPietro, who’s currently dealing with an injury and hasn’t played in more than a week, has earned a chance to prove himself in the NHL, so it wouldn’t be a bad idea to give him a couple opportunities if Korpisalo doesn’t improve.

The bottom line is the Bruins cannot expect to remain in the playoff race deep into the season if their backup goalie has a 3.63 GAA, especially when a couple losses in a row can drop you several spots in the standings.

Korpisalo’s inability to consistently give the B’s quality starts doesn’t just impact the team’s place in the standings, it also forces Swayman to take on a larger workload, which obviously isn’t ideal.

The Bruins have largely exceeded expectations so far this season. They are firmly in the mix for a playoff spot, and finishing top three in the division is certainly not out of the question.

But they need to solve this backup goalie issue ASAP, because it does have the potential to cost them dearly if it persists.