Michael DiPietro
DiPietro is Boston's backup behind Jeremy Swayman. He has opened 2026-27 well, with 2 wins and a shutout in 3 starts, but nothing found says the split has moved toward him.
Role
Boston Hockey Now's lines page (read 26 October) lists Swayman as starter and DiPietro as backup. I could not read the goalie section of the Daily Faceoff page I fetched, because the fetch cut off at Swayman's name. He has started 3 games: a 4-1 loss to Minnesota on Oct. 3, a 4-2 win over Anaheim, and a 6-0 shutout of Nashville on Oct. 22 (28 saves). That shutout came two nights after Swayman played the Dallas game, which Boston lost 3-2 in overtime, so he appears to be getting the second game of a stretch. I did not find a stated split or schedule. ESPN's player note projects about 25 starts this season, which is their estimate and not a team statement. He plays behind a Boston defense that Daily Faceoff's last-game page (Oct. 24) shows as Lindholm-McAvoy, Zadorov-Borgen and Brunet-Lohrei. Swayman is the only goalie competing for the work.
Boston.com (Oct. 23) says he has not looked like a rookie, going 2-1-0 with a .941 save percentage. He won AHL MVP honors in 2025-26, and ESPN cites a 34-8-1 record, 1.91 GAA and .930 save percentage at Providence. Coach Marco Sturm called his first start outstanding despite the loss. ESPN projects about 25 starts and expects strong totals from him with a good team system in front of him.
He is still a backup with 3 NHL starts this season. The supplied data shows 3 games, 2 wins and 1 loss last season, on 79 saves from 84 shots, a very small sample. A .941 mark over 3 games is unlikely to hold. Swayman remains the listed starter, so DiPietro's starts depend on the schedule and Swayman's workload. A RotoWire preseason note had him likely to spend most or all of the year in the minors, so his hold on the NHL job is recent.
Where analysts split
The open question is how many starts the backup gets, not whether he is the backup. ESPN's projection is roughly 25 starts, but I found no Bruins or beat-writer statement on a split. I did not find analysts disputing his role. Whether his strong start earns him extra starts over Swayman has not been addressed in the coverage I found.
Research confidence: reported. Outlooks are grounded in web search over current reporting and refreshed through the season.
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