Need to Know: Bruins at Wild

ST. PAUL –– The time has finally come for Michael DiPietro.

The goaltender will start his first game as a Boston Bruin on Saturday night when they face the Minnesota Wild for an 8 p.m. ET puck drop at Grand Casino Arena.

“Not really a surprise. I got to know him a little bit last year. He came in; a very focused kid. Works extremely hard,” head coach Marco Sturm said. “He showed the last couple years how well he played in the minors. I think it was just a matter of time and timing. I think it’s the right time right now for him.”

​DiPietro made the NHL club out of training camp for the first time since getting traded to the B’s organization in October 2022. The 27-year-old has spent the past three seasons with Providence in the AHL and won the Aldege “Baz” Bastien Memorial Award as the league’s most outstanding goaltender for the last two consecutive years. He posted a 1.91 goals-against average and .930 SV% through 45 games last season.

Jeremy Swayman, who made 30 saves in the Bruins’ 4-3 overtime win against the Winnipeg Jets on Friday, will get some rest.

“It’s a back-to-back, it’s traveling and we play again in 48 hours. There’s a lot to it,” Sturm said of the goalie decision. “I think Sway was unbelievable the first few games. We feel really, really comfortable with Mikey stepping in. He’s been great in preseason, and he should be good tonight."

Saturday marks the second night of a back-to-back for Boston, which is on its first road trip of the year. The team has gotten out to a 2-0-0 start and is looking to build off of that in Minnesota, despite the quick turnaround.

Other than DiPietro starting, Sturm said there would be no lineup changes.

“I think we just have to make sure we are going to help him out,” Sturm said. “I will mention to my guys, and I just did, that we all have to help him out, too…We’ve just got to play together and help each other out.”

Wait, There’s More

• JJ Peterka scored the game-winning goal for the Bruins during Friday’s overtime in Winnipeg. The 24-year-old forward was acquired from the Utah Mammoth in June and has two goals in his first two games with the B’s. Peterka is skating on the first line alongside David Pastrnak and Elias Lindholm while averaging 18:37 of ice time per night.

• Will Borgen, the Moorhead, Minnesota, native, will be skating in front of friends and family on Saturday in his homecoming game. The 29-year-old defenseman is in his first season with Boston after getting traded from the New York Rangers in July. He is on the first pair with Hampus Lindholm, and picked up his first point as a Bruin on Friday with an assist on his D-partner’s goal.

• James Hagens scored his first NHL goal on Friday against the Jets to give the B’s a 2-1 lead in the first period. The 19-year-old forward was Boston’s seventh overall pick in the 2025 draft. Hagens remains on the third line with Fraser Minten and Marat Khusnutdinov, as well as the second power play unit.

Opposing View

• Saturday is the Wild’s home opener at Grand Casino Arena. Minnesota played its first game of the season on Thursday, beating the Nashville Predators 3-1 on the road. Nick Foligno, Blake Coleman and Kirill Kaprizov scored in the win. Netminder Jesper Wallstedt made 19 saves; he is expected to start against the Bruins, too.

• Brock Faber is out of the lineup indefinitely for the Wild after having surgery on Sunday for a skull fracture he suffered during a preseason matchup. The 24-year-old was second in points among all Wild defensemen with 51 (15 goals, 36 assists) through 80 games; he only trailed Quinn Hughes, who had 53 (five goals, 48 assists).

• Matt Boldy is from Milford, Massachusetts, and played two seasons of NCAA hockey at Boston College before turning pro. The 25-year-old forward is expected to be on the Wild’s first line with Coleman and Joel Eriksson Ek. Boldy had 85 points (42 goals, 43 assists) through 76 games last year.