Korpisalo makes 20 saves, Bruins shut out Flyers

PHILADELPHIA -- Joonas Korpisalo made 20 saves for the Boston Bruins in a 3-0 win against the Philadelphia Flyers at Wells Fargo Center on Saturday.

Brad Marchand had a goal and an assist for Boston (5-6-1), and Matthew Poitras and Justin Brazeau scored. It was the Bruins' first win in three games (1-2-0).

"Big game today," Korpisalo said. "We took the driver's seat right away, and we kept it. And those are a full good 60 minutes."

Aleksei Kolosov made 20 saves for Philadelphia (4-7-1) after replacing Samuel Ersson at 7:36 of the first period. Ersson left the game because of a lower-body injury after stopping all eight shots he faced. The Flyers did not have a timetable for when Ersson could play again.

"[Kolosov] made some big saves, he kept us in it," Flyers captain Sean Couturier said. "They were outshooting us most of the game and he kept us in there, gave us a chance and that's what you want from your goalie."

The Bruins got a strong effort from their goalie. It was Korpisalo's first shutout since joining the Bruins in a trade that sent Linus Ullmark, the 2023 Vezina Trophy winner as the top goalie in the NHL, to the Ottawa Senators on June 24.

He was at his best in the second period when he made seven saves, including a sliding shoulder stop on Morgan Frost during a 2-on-1 rush with 3:41 remaining in the period.

"In every game there's going to be timely saves, and you've got to be ready to do those," Korpisalo said.

It's the second straight start where Korpisalo has allowed one goal or fewer; he allowed one on 18 shots in the Bruins' 2-0 loss to the Flyers in Boston on Tuesday.

"You can see him get more and more confident," Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said. "When you see a goalie really be square and compact to the puck, not a lot of movement, you know he's finding his groove."

Korpisalo certainly has earned the trust of his teammates.

"He's just so athletic and moves so well," Poitras said. "You see some of those saves where he's coming across the net so fast and making those glove saves. He was huge for us tonight, and he's just so athletic."

Poitras put the Bruins ahead 1-0 at 13:28 of the first period. Hampus Lindholm's point shot rebounded off the end wall to Poitras, who slid a shot from a sharp angle between Kolosov's skates.

It was his first goal since Nov. 27, 2023, in part because of season-ending shoulder surgery in February.

"It felt good to just see one go in the net," he said. "Obviously it wasn't pretty. Just put pucks on net and good things happen."

Brazeau made it 2-0 at 11:23 of the second period when he skated through the slot and one-timed a pass from Marchand past Kolosov.

"The 5-on-5 goals that we got are the kind of 5-on-5 goals that we're going to have to score, where it's at the goal line, we outnumber people, and we find someone in the slot and or we crash the net," Montgomery said.

Marchand closed the scoring at 16:21 of the third period with an empty-net goal for the 3-0 final.

It's the third straight game the Flyers have had 21 shots on goal or fewer. Part of that could be a focus on playing better in the defensive zone.

"We have to play well in front of our goalies," Flyers coach John Tortorella said. "To me, when you play well in front of your goalies, you have the puck more. So as far as the shots, I think we have chances to shoot and we don't. Like I said the other day, it's an epidemic of shooting the puck wide. ... Playing defense has to be a priority for us in the situation we're having, our goaltending situation, and just where we are as a team. Offense comes off of that. Hopefully it's a matter of getting some guys going."

NOTES: The win was Montgomery's 117th as Bruins coach, tying Lynn Patrick for 10th all-time. ... Korpisalo's last shutout was April 10, 2023, with the Los Angeles Kings.