Joonas Korpisalo to Start Thursday, Seeking Resurgence with Boston Bruins

Joonas Korpisalo is expected to start in goal on Thursday against Ottawa. Korpisalo's 2023-24 season was challenging, marked by a 21-26-4 record, a .890 save percentage, and a -13.6 GSAx, leading to him being considered perhaps the NHL's worst starting goalie. He has been traded to the Boston Bruins to back up Jeremy Swayman, with hopes that the team's development staff can help revive his game. Korpisalo's performance has historically been tied to his team's defense; he excelled after being acquired by the Kings from Columbus in March 2023, posting an 11-11-3 record with a 3.17 GAA and .911 save percentage for Columbus, then a 7-3-1 record with a 2.13 GAA and .921 save percentage for Los Angeles, whose defense ranked third in expected goals against compared to Columbus' 31st. He signed a five-year, $20 million contract with Ottawa, where he was projected to earn 20-25 wins with a 2.60-2.90 GAA and .910-.915 save percentage over 45-50 starts. His 2022-23 campaign was marred by a 7-11-0 record, a 4.15 GAA, and an .877 save percentage, ending with hip surgery. He previously served as backup to Elvis Merzlikins in Columbus, where his GAA rose from 2.60 to 3.30 and save percentage dropped from .911 to .894 in the 2020-21 season. Korpisalo also had a strong playoff performance in 2020, with a .941 save percentage, but faced competition from Merzlikins. He spent his early career as backup to Sergei Bobrovsky, showing flashes of No. 1 upside but struggling with inconsistency.