Jeremy Swayman
Swayman is still Boston's No. 1 goalie, but DiPietro has taken a real share of the starts, and Swayman has had a rough stretch after a strong first 10 games.
Role
Swayman is the starter on a Bruins team that Sturm has playing in front of him. NHL.com (Oct. 31) had Boston 10-4-1 and atop the Atlantic. Heavy cited NHL.com that Swayman started 8 of the first 10 games and went 6-1-1 with a 1.98 GAA and .928 save percentage. DiPietro, 27, is the backup. Boston Hockey Now's line page, which I fetched, shows the No. 1 and backup labels flipping several times in October. It has Swayman as No. 1 on Oct. 17 and Oct. 24, and DiPietro as No. 1 on Oct. 16, Oct. 22 and Oct. 31. DiPietro was 3-1-0 after the Oct. 31 win over Chicago, per NHL.com. The Bruins play Vegas on Nov. 2. That page was last updated Oct. 31 and shows DiPietro as the projected starter for Nov. 2, per PuckPedia. It says this is a projection and not a confirmed start, and I could not confirm who started. Nothing I found reports an injury to Swayman.
Sturm called Swayman unbelievable early in the season, per NHL.com's Oct. 3 preview. The 6-1-1 start with a .928 save percentage backs that up. The Bruins' beat coverage calls the DiPietro starts a rotation, not a benching. Heavy's reporting on the Oct. 31 start said Swayman remains the clear No. 1. The optimists see the two bad outings as a blip and expect him to keep most of the starts.
Swayman was coming off back-to-back losses when DiPietro got the Oct. 31 start. He stopped 14 of 18 shots in the 4-1 loss at St. Louis on Oct. 29. DiPietro's small sample is excellent: 3-1-0 through four starts per NHL.com, with a 1.69 GAA and .941 save percentage through three per Yahoo. Sturm has said he wants to use the full roster. A hot backup gives Boston an easy reason to keep rotating or lean toward the 50-50 split that was debated last year.
Where analysts split
The question is how many starts DiPietro keeps. One side sees a normal rest rotation behind a clear No. 1 starter. The other thinks the backup's results, and Swayman's recent losses, could push Sturm toward a more even split. I found no reporting that settles it. The rotation has so far been framed as rest, not a change of starter.
Research confidence: reported. Outlooks are grounded in web search over current reporting and refreshed through the season.
Others at G
Fantasy Memo reads your league and answers that every Monday, and checks your lineup on the days you play.
Connect your league: 14 days free