Joe Sacco Makes First Intriguing Bruins Coaching Decision Regarding Goalies

The numbers for Boston Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman over his last couple of games aren’t pretty.

Swayman allowed 12 goals in his last two starts and 20 goals over his previous five starts. On the other hand, Swayman’s backup in Joonas Korpisalo recorded his second shutout of the month Thursday in a 1-0 win over the Utah Hockey Club.

But interim Bruins head coach Joe Sacco isn’t going to go with the hot hand Saturday night in Detroit against the Red Wings and instead will turn the net back over to Swayman.

“I think Sway needs to get the net again,” Sacco told reporters after an optional morning skate, per team-provided video. “I think we all agree that he needs to be back in the net. He’s still our guy. He’s going to work his way and he’s going to be fine. Like I said, I think if we’re better defensively in front of him, like we were last game for (Korpisalo), it’s going to make his job easier.”

Swayman has not performed up to his standard so far this season and that’s not lost on the 25-year-old netminder. He posted a 5-7-2 record with a 3.47 goals-against average and a .884 save percentage — both marks are by far the worst of his career. Meanwhile, the Bruins have fared much better with Korpisalo between the pipes as he owns a 4-2-1 mark with a 2.38 goals-against average and a .911 save percentage.

But the Bruins didn’t trade for Korpisalo to be the starter. There’s still a ton of belief in Swayman, who doesn’t feel that missing the entirety of training camp contributed to his early season struggles. But the Bruins certainly need him to look like the goalie they handed an eight-year, $66 million contract to.

Perhaps, the Bruins will get that version of Swayman against a Red Wings team that is a bottom-10 team in the NHL in scoring.