The Boston Bruins won the first game of their grueling, weeklong Western road trip Tuesday when they cruised past the San Jose Sharks by a 6-3 tally.
On Friday, Boston looks for another West Coast win, and to stretch their winning streak to four overall when they take on the Ducks in Anaheim, California.
Before the game, the Bruins announced a change in goal, with regular starter Jeremy Swayman getting the night off.
Instead, Michael DiPietro gets his second start of the season for the Bruins tonight at Honda Center in Anaheim. DiPietro is still chasing his first NHL win.
Swayman has handled Boston’s other six starts, which leaves the skaters to back a goalie without an NHL win against a Ducks power play converting at an impressive 33.3%.
DiPietro is confirmed in net for the 10 p.m. EDT, 7 p.m. PDT puck drop, according to NESN‘s Adam Pellerin.
Coach Marco Sturm said after Thursday’s practice in Irvine, California, that DiPietro would start one game of the weekend back-to-back, either against Anaheim or Saturday at the Los Angeles Kings, according to Causeway Crowd. Swayman turned aside 35 of 38 shots in Tuesday’s 6-3 win at San Jose, according to Bruins.com.
Michael DiPietro’s Path to the Boston Bruins Crease
The Vancouver Canucks drafted DiPietro in the third round, 64th overall, in 2017. Boston acquired him Oct. 27, 2022, sending forward Jack Studnicka to the Canucks for the goaltender and the rights to defenseman Jonathan Myrenberg, according to Bruins.com.
“He went down and played in Maine in the ECHL for a whole year and just kept his head down, worked hard, did what he’s supposed to do,” Bruins goaltending development coach Mike Dunham said, as quoted by Bruins.com.
Providence then gave DiPietro the starter’s net. He won the Aldege “Baz” Bastien Memorial Award as the AHL’s top goaltender in each of the last two seasons, posting a 1.91 goals-against average and .930 save percentage in 45 games last year. Boston traded Joonas Korpisalo to the New York Rangers on July 1, which opened the backup job.
DiPietro stopped 26 of 29 shots in a 4-1 loss at Minnesota on Oct. 3, his only appearance for Boston this season, according to RotoWire. That leaves him 0-1 with a 3.10 goals-against average and .897 save percentage.
Bruins Offense Faces Anaheim With DiPietro in Net
Boston has scored 26 goals through seven games, 3.71 per contest, while allowing 16. Anaheim has scored 20 and allowed 17, according to The Boston Globe.
Special teams favor Anaheim on paper. The Ducks convert 33.3% of power plays and kill 90.5% of penalties, against Boston’s 16.7% and 76.0%. The Bruins lead faceoffs, 50.6% to 45.3%, but the Ducks have won five straight in the series, the Globe reported.
Anaheim is missing forward Ryan Poehling for six to eight weeks with a sprained MCL. Center Mikael Granlund is day-to-day with an upper-body injury after opening the season with points in six straight games. Boston is a -115 favorite, with the total set at 6.0.
Fraser Minten leads the Bruins with four goals after scoring twice against San Jose, and defenseman Charlie McAvoy scored in his season debut following a six-game suspension.
“It’s probably not our best game – there were a few too many turnovers and a little bit sloppy – but we found a way to win a hockey game,” Sturm said, as quoted by Bruins.com’s Belle Fraser.
Boston sits at 5-2-0, second in the Atlantic Division, with three straight wins over the Utah Mammoth (6-1), Philadelphia Flyers (5-1) and Sharks. Its losses came at Minnesota with DiPietro in net and at home against Ottawa.
Swayman is projected to start Saturday at Los Angeles, which leaves DiPietro one night in Anaheim to claim that first NHL victory.
Bruins Announce New Jeremy Swayman Decision Before Ducks Game