In an impressive display, Joonas Korpisalo achieved his first shutout of the season and the fifth of his career, guiding the Boston Bruins to a 3-0 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday.
The scoring for Boston came from Matthew Poitras, Justin Brazeau, and Brad Marchand, marking only the second victory for the team in their last six games. Korpisalo was particularly impressive in the second period, making a series of crucial saves that kept the Flyers from finding the net and put a stop to Philadelphia’s two-game winning streak.
Poitras was the first to find the back of the net for the Bruins, scoring his first goal of the season with a backhand shot from a challenging angle midway through the first period, beating Aleksei Kolosov. Kolosov made 20 saves after stepping in for Sam Ersson, who had to leave the game due to an undisclosed injury in the first period.
Brazeau doubled the Bruins’ lead to 2-0 at 11:23 in the second period with a shot from the right circle that slipped past Kolosov. Marchand, who assisted on Brazeau’s goal, capped off the scoring with an empty-net goal as the game concluded.
Reflecting on the game, the Bruins approached it with determination after a prior shutout at home against the Flyers and a heavy defeat to Carolina earlier in the week. Boston dominated the first period by outshooting Philadelphia 14-5, managing to control the puck mostly in the Flyers’ zone, which led to Poitras’ opening goal.
On the Flyers’ side, Morgan Frost was anticipated to be a key offensive player this season, potentially working alongside rookie talent Matvei Michkov. However, this pairing has yet to materialize, leading to Frost not currently playing on the same line. He has struggled to score this season and had two close attempts during the game, one hitting the post and another being prevented by a sprawling save from Korpisalo.
A pivotal moment occurred when Ersson exited the game just over seven minutes into the first period, with Kolosov taking over. Ersson appeared to experience issues with his skate during a stoppage, and he did not return after being evaluated. Before his exit, he had successfully blocked all eight shots faced while dealing with significant pressure from the Bruins.
In terms of stats, Ryan Poehling of the Flyers notably leads all forwards in the NHL with 121 blocked shots since the start of the last season.
Looking ahead, the Bruins will return home on Sunday for a quick match against Seattle, while the Flyers will have a break until Tuesday, when they will begin a three-game road trip in Carolina.