Given the nod for his first start in almost two full weeks, Bruins netminder Joonas Korpisalo did what he could to lift his team in Tuesday’s showdown between the Bruins and Flyers at TD Garden.

But Korpisalo alone was not enough to carry the Bruins, as the B’s were booed off the ice after finding themselves shut out for the second time this season, this time by way of a 2-0 loss to Philly.

“I thought [Korpisalo] gave us an opportunity to win,” Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery said following his team’s defeat, dropping them down to 4-5-1 on the season. “He didn’t face many shots, but he faced some high-quality shots, and I can think of at least three great saves. ”

Korpisalo, who entered play with an .850 save percentage through two starts, had to get hot early, too, with two big-time stops on Bobby Brink looks just a minute and a half into the first period of play.

In addition to Korpisalo’s dazzling saves, the Black and Gold’s first period was defined by chances that fell off the board with nothing to show for ’em, headlined by an extended 5-on-3 that went nowhere. Given 1:37 of a two-man advantage, and with their top dogs out there throughout, the Bruins struggled to do much of anything, and the most notable chance actually came off a Philly stick, as the Flyers had a fantastic 2-on-1 opportunity towards Korpisalo when the 5-on-3 became a 5-on-4 for Boston.

Locked at 0-0 through one period of play, the Flyers struck first behind Tyson Foerster’s second goal of the season, scored at the 5:32 mark of the second period.

The goal, which came with assists to Morgan Frost and Emil Andrae (his first career NHL point), was also good for the 22-year-old Foerster’s fourth career marker against the Bruins in as many games.

In need of just a single goal in the third period, the Bruins came out as flat as they could. The Bruins had just three shots on goal in the final frame, and the power-play chance they were gifted after a too-many-men call against the Flyers was an absolute disaster. Disaster may have been kind, all things considered, as the Bruins seemed incapable of making any sort of clean pass, and quality looks were a distant dream.

In addition to wasting a great start from Korpisalo, which is an absolute sin for a Bruins team that’s bound to lean on Jeremy Swayman like they never have before, the additional gut-punch for the Bruins came with the fact that the team was not able to build off their most recent victory, and have now suffered losses in four of their last five games overall behind a 1-3-1 record.

“It’s a good question,” Montgomery said when asked why the team could not build off last Saturday’s thriller over the Maple Leafs. “It’s a multitude of things, it seems like. Some guys are still fighting it as far as the confidence and the need to be smoother.”


In the Philadelphia net, Samuel Ersson stopped all 23 shots faced, while the Flyers blocked 28 shots as a team, which is the most any opponent has blocked against Boston in almost five years.

The Bruins will now head on the road for a two-game road trip that’ll feature a stop in Carolina on Halloween night before a Saturday matinee head-to-head with the Flyers.

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