Korpisalo makes 36 saves, Bruins end Blue Jackets’ winning streak at 7

BOSTON -- Joonas Korpisalo made 36 saves for the Boston Bruins, who ended the Columbus Blue Jackets’ seven-game winning streak with a 4-2 victory at TD Garden on Thursday.

Korpisalo exited the game at 6:31 of the second period following a collision with Columbus forward Miles Wood, who was penalized on the play, but returned a little more than six minutes later. During a TV timeout, Korpisalo went to the bench and returned to the net before play resumed. Before puck drop, however, he was replaced by backup Michael DiPietro, who stopped both shots he faced after being recently recalled from Providence of the American Hockey League.

Korpisalo said he was a little bit surprised but understood why he was called off the ice. Still, he was able to return and defeat his former team.

“This was a big game, regardless,” Korpisalo said. “They’re right behind us in the standings, and obviously playing against Columbus, I spent eight years there, so it’s always fun to win it.”

Jeremy Swayman was given the game off following his return from the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 with Team USA, which defeated Team Canada 2-1 in overtime in the gold medal game on Sunday.

“‘Korpy’ was unbelievable today,” Boston coach Marco Sturm said. “Glad he came back right away from the Olympics [after representing Finland] and didn’t waste any time. He wanted to be in practice and the last two days were very important for him just to be back on the ice and having practices again. He was great.

“And, Mikey, what a story. Now you know why we didn’t dress Swayman, not because we don’t trust him, but he barely practiced, and we didn’t want to risk anything. Good for Mikey. This guy has been rock-solid all year long (in Providence) and, believe it or not, that little stretch he made some key saves.”

Viktor Arvidsson scored twice, and Morgan Geekie and Sean Kuraly also scored for the Bruins (33-20-5), who had consecutive shootout losses but extended their point streak to eight games (5-0-3).

“It’s huge,” Geekie said of the win. “It seems like everyone in our division wins every time they play, so to get these points is huge, especially to come out of the gate and get two points right away. It’s something to build off, but we know we’ve got a lot of work ahead of us.”

Kirill Marchenko and Adam Fantilli scored for the Blue Jackets (29-21-7), who had won 11 of 12 (11-1-0). Elvis Merzlikins made 19 saves.

“We had more than enough scoring chances in that game,” Columbus coach Rick Bowness said. “We dominated the first. We dominated the third and the second was even. That game did not get away from us. We played hard. We played well and if we play like that, we’ll get the results. Sometimes things don’t go your way, and tonight was an example of that. … Give their goalie a lot of credit, he played outstanding. We had far more opportunities than the two goals show, but if we play like that we’ll live with the result.”

Marchenko gave Columbus a 1-0 lead at 4:32 of the first period. Mason Marchment split Boston’s defense with a neutral-zone stretch pass that connected with Marchenko, who broke in alone and beat Korpisalo low stick side.

“I know Marchment likes to zip it right away, and we got a bounce to go our way and it’s a good breakaway for me,” Marchenko said.

Arvidsson tied it 1-1 at 15:51. Columbus attempted to rim the puck out of its zone, but Arvidsson cut it off above the right circle and took a quick one-timer. The puck knuckled toward the net and ricocheted off Isac Lundestrom’s stick and past Merzlikins.

Korpisalo made several timely saves and finished with 19 in the first period.

“We’re aware how good of a goalie he is,” Columbus defenseman Zach Werenski said of his former teammate. “We did everything we could to score -- traffic, rebounds, 2-on-1s. There’s not much else we can do besides get one past him. He played a great game and it’s unfortunate it was against us.”

Geekie’s power-play goal gave Boston a 2-1 lead at 6:54 of the second period, a one-timer from the left circle off an assist from David Pastrnak.

“David made a great play and I just tried to beat (Merzlikins) to the post,” explained Geekie. “He’s a really good goalie and good down low, but when (Pastrnak) made that pass as hard as he did, I just tried to put it on net and just try to find the right spot.”

Kuraly, a former Blue Jacket, extended it to 3-1 at 11:15 of the third period before Fantilli cut it to 3-2 at 13:45.

Arvidsson then scored his second goal at 19:27, an empty-netter for the 4-2 final.

NOTES: Marchenko scored his 20th goal of the season and has hit the mark in each of his first four NHL seasons. He joined R.J. Umberger (four from 2008-09 to 2011-12) as the second player in franchise history to start their tenure with the franchise with four straight 20-goal seasons. … The Bruins extended their home winning streak to 10 games, the franchise’s longest since a 14-game run in 2022-23. … Pastrnak recorded his 50th assist of the season to become the fourth different player in franchise history to post four consecutive 50-assist seasons, joining Phil Esposito (seven: 1968-69 to 1974-75), Ray Bourque (six: 1982-83 to 1987-88; five: 1989-90 to 1993-94) and Bobby Orr (six: 1969-70 to 1974-75).