Boston will turn to Korpisalo in net and give a 19-year-old forward his NHL debut Sunday when the Bruins visit the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena. Puck drop is set for 6 p.m. ET in the third and final meeting between the teams in the regular season.
The 19-year-old signed a three-year, entry-level contract on Wednesday, then was handed a chance in a game that matters for different reasons on both benches. Boston clinched its place in the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs on Saturday and sits in the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with 96 points, while Columbus comes in with 92 points and remains just outside third place in the Metropolitan Division.
Marco Sturm said the rookie is excited and should be told to keep things simple. He said Columbus is still in the hunt and will come out hard because it needs the points, adding that the newcomer will be surrounded by players of a similar age group in Minten and Khusnutdinov and that the setting should be fun for him. The message, Sturm said, is to let instinct and skill take over after an easy start.
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Boston’s lineup will also change beyond the debut. Charlie McAvoy, Pavel Zacha, Hampus Lindholm and Tanner Jeannot will sit out, while Lukas Reichel, Alex Steeves, Henri Jokiharju and Jordan Harris will draw in. Sturm said the club is giving banged-up players time to recover before it gets back to work tomorrow.
The Bruins have already handled Columbus twice this season, winning 4-2 on Feb. 26 and 4-3 on March 29. This one is less about proving who owns the matchup and more about Boston protecting its health and position, while Columbus tries to keep its postseason push alive in the final stretch.
