The Florida Panthers tucked six pucks behind Joonas Korpisalo in the season opener. Korpisalo was good in his debut as a Boston Bruin.
These sentences do not contradict.
The Bruins were terrible in front of Korpisalo. Their forecheck did not exist. Their high forwards did not seal off Florida’s neutral-zone escapes. Their defensemen kept loose gaps.
“Korpisalo was not a problem tonight,” said coach Jim Montgomery after the 6-4 loss. “It was the people in front of him. You can’t give up four backdoor tap-ins and expect your goalie to make save after save. He made a lot of saves on breakaways. He was good tonight.”
GO DEEPER
‘Weren’t good in so many areas’: 7 Bruins shortcomings in season-opening rout
All of that made life for Korpisalo miserable. Let’s study the video:
Goal 1
This is on Korpisalo. He should have blockered Evan Rodrigues’ point shot deeper into the right corner. Because the puck popped up, Korpisalo couldn’t find it until Sam Bennett punched in the rebound.
But the Bruins started the fire. Their troubles started with Mason Lohrei pinching down the wall in the offensive zone. After Lohrei lost the battle, the Panthers started the rush. Morgan Geekie, back for Lohrei, had to play defense on Dmitry Kulikov. Then Matthew Tkachuk won a race in the corner to move the puck to Rodrigues.
Lastly, Brandon Carlo didn’t negate Bennett’s stick.
Goal 2
No chance. Sam Reinhart throws the puck far pad from a sharp angle. Korpisalo has to make a reactionary save with two Panthers in the blue paint with inside ice on Andrew Peeke and Trent Frederic. Eetu Luostarinen has an easy tap-in.
Goal 3
Some gray area here. It’s an excellent shot off the rush by Reinhart inside the left faceoff dot. Korpisalo gets a piece of it with his left shoulder. Charlie McAvoy could have done better to steer Reinhart to outside ice.
But the Bruins need a timely save here after Pavel Zacha makes it a 2-1 game.
Goal 4
No chance. Ex-Bruin A.J. Greer, on a three-on-two rush, has a shot blocked. Korpisalo drops into his butterfly to stop the possible Greer shot. Before Korpisalo can track the puck and get back to his feet, Bennett hits in the follow-up shot.
Goal 5
No chance. After Carlo fails to get the puck, the Panthers rush the other way. Korpisalo has to respect ex-Bruin Jesper Boqvist’s shot. Jonah Gadjovich beats Carlo to the far post. Easy tap-in.
Goal 6
No chance. On a two-on-two rush, Carlo and Lohrei sag off Rodrigues to give him time to shoot. It’s a chance from distance. But it deflects off Lohrei’s stick and beats Korpisalo, who cannot follow the change of direction.
Conclusion
A six-spot is a six-spot. But only two were on Korpisalo. His teammates were far worse. Korpisalo deserved better in his first game as a Bruin.
(Photo of Sam Bennett scoring on Joonas Korpisalo: Joel Auerbach / Getty Images)
