The Boston Bruins have been one of the surprise teams this season, and a key reason why is their goaltending play.
Boston has a tandem of Jeremy Swayman and Joonas Korpisalo, and both have gotten off to hot starts. After two months of NHL play, The Athletic’s Jesse Granger ranked the Bruins’ tandem of Swayman and Korpisalo the fifth-best goalie tandem in the NHL.
“This is the Jeremy Swayman the Bruins hoped for when they signed him to a massive extension last offseason,” Granger wrote, in a piece published on Monday. “Few goalies can control a game the way Swayman does with his positioning and rebound control. Boston’s save percentage isn’t overly impressive, but the Bruins’ defense has been putrid, so the goals saved above expected tell the story better, and Swayman leads all goalies in that metric.
“The structure of his game has been immaculate this season. His hands and feet all move in unison, keeping him connected and leaving no holes for the puck to get through. Korpisalo is off to a mediocre start statistically, but he has deserved better than his current numbers based on the eye test. He has been a victim of some unfortunate bounces and deflections while playing behind a defense that allows the most expected goals per 60 minutes in the NHL.”
Swayman is 11-6-0 with a 2.62 GAA and a .915 SV% this season. Korpisalo, meanwhile, is 4-6-0 with a 3.59 GAA and a .875 SV%.
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The Bruins’ goalie tandem ranks behind the New York Rangers, Minnesota Wild, Colorado Avalanche, and New York Islanders.
Due to the success of Swayman and Korpisalo, Boston is off to a 15-12-0 and is in second place in the Atlantic Division.