By: Chris Nosek

During his time in the American Hockey League, Michael DiPietro has shown to be a top goaltender. Many Bruins fans want him to take the backup role. They want him because his salary is significantly lower against the salary cap than that of Joonas Korpisalo. His numbers with the Providence Bruins are incredible and would dictate he get this consideration. To answer these questions we need to look at the goals he allowed during training camp.

To simply say “his game is not NHL-ready” is a very vague and many fans don’t understand what that means. So we’ll break down each goal he allowed in the preseason. We will breakdown what happens on the play and how what DiPietro does that allows the goal to score.

September 21, 2025: Boston Bruins vs Washington Capitals

In this game, DiPietro played 30:14 and faced 21 shots and he allowed 5 goals.

1st Goal

This goal was scored just 31 seconds after the Bruins went up 1-0. The play starts with DiPietro coming out to play the puck behind his own net. He passes the puck to Nikita Zadorov, who is already heading behind his goal to make a play. Anthony Beauvillier is applying heavy pressure to Zadorov before DiPietro makes the pass. When Zadorov carries the puck around the net, DiPietro returns to his crease. DiPietro makes his biggest mistake when Zadorov turns the puck over. The puck gets to Lapierre, but before he touches the puck DiPietro commits to a shot attempt. Lapierre see this commitment and instead makes a one-touch pass over to Sonny Milano. Milano was just a few feet in front of the crease, and DiPietro never saw him. Viktor Soderstrom managed to get in the passing lane. He even caught a slight piece of the puck as it was going to Milano. This slowed Milano up just enough that he had to turn and fire a backhand shot on goal.

The commitment to a shot from Lapierre, caused DiPietro to be unable to square up in order to face the shot from Milano. If DiPietro had been higher in his crease, he likely would have still made the save. DiPietro dropping to his knees likely indicates that he never saw the shot off the stick of Milano. He possibly lost sight of it as it passed by Soderstrom. On this play, DiPietro was slow to react because he did not properly read the play as it was unfolding. A better read allow him to get more square to the shot when it is taken. It gives him a better chance to react with his glove. Either of these actions result in a save. He could either catch the puck or stop it and get help from Soderstrom to clear it.

2nd Goal

After allowing the first goal, DiPietro didn’t lock thing down and settle in. Instead, he allowed the 2nd goal a mere 5 minutes later (roughly). This one also came shortly after a Bruins turnover in the defensive zone. Elias Lindholm wins a faceoff, to the right of DiPietro, and Viktor Soderstrom ends up in a battle. The momentum of this play is toward the trapeszoid behind the Boston net. Soderstrom sees Lindholm by the hashmark in the faceoff circle and tries to push the puck over to him. It’s not a great pass. Instead of Lindholm landing possession, the puck deflects through his legs and lands on the stick of Hendrix Lapierre. There is no blame for DiPietro in any of this part of the sequence.

DiPietro shows, again, that his ability to read the play is not up to NHL standards. By the time the puck gets to Lindholm at the circle, DiPietro is still down hugging tightly against his post. By the time the puck lands on Lapierre’s stick, DiPietro has just started to adjust his position. This delayed reaction keeps DiPietro deep in the crease and unprepared for the shot. With a clear line of sight to the shot, he should have been able to make the save. Instead the puck under the stick.

The slower reaction on this play might be a result of DiPietro’s lack of NHL experience. He is used to the slower pace of the American Hockey League. However, regularly making a save on this type of shot is what separates an NHL goaltender from an AHL goaltender. DiPietro is competing for a roster spot against Korpisalo. Korpisalo has extensive NHL experience. DiPietro needed a save here.

3rd Goal

This goal is allowed on a breakaway for Sonny Milano. He has Nikita Zadorov just about on top of him. Milano gains full control of the puck at the top of the faceoff circles. Zadorov reaching in forces Milano to go to DiPietro’s glove side for his shot. The moment Milano makes contact with Zadorov’s stick, DiPietro commits to a shot. Milano shows great patience as DiPietro’s commitment to the shot brings his left pad down to the ice. Milano then places the shot high glove side once DiPietro’s full body weight is down. You can see DiPietro try to gain momentum using his entire body so he can try to make the save. However, by the time he is able to adjust the puck is passed him and the goal is scored.

4th Goal

DiPietro did just about everything correctly on this shot and it still went in. This goal was a result of a deflection off the stick of Bogdan Trineyev in front of the net. Trineyev was crashing to the net. Ivan Miroshnihenko applied heavy pressure to Mason Lorhei who is with the puck to the right of DiPietro. Because of where the puck is, DiPietro is covering the post very tightly as he should be. He is eliminating the possibility of a deflection off of himself for a goal. Trineyev was able to thread himself between Matthew Poitras and Charlie McAvoy so he could be net-front as the puck is deflected there as well.

This put him in front of the goal just enough. He was able to make a play on the puck as it was being sent net-front. He is able to deflect the puck just past the knee of McAvoy and the glove of DiPietro. From some angles I’ve seen, it looks like the puck actually deflected off McAvoy’s knee. From angles I have seen, it looks like the puck possibly deflected off McAvoy. A deflection off McAvoy’s knee would explain why DiPietro is initially bringing his glove down. DiPietro has his momentum going down, however the trajectory of the puck is upward. This would explain why DiPietro has his momentum going down. As much as he’s misread the plays, he doesn’t usually go the opposite direction of the puck.

5th Goal

The sequence for this goal begins as the play is exiting the Capitals defensive zone. The Caps had a 3-on-1 building up toward the Bruins’ end. Hendrix Lapierre, Sonny Milano, and Ryan Chesley were barreling toward DiPietro with only Mason Lorhei for help. Chesley and Lapierre took the lead as they crossed the red line, turning the play into a 2-on-1. Lapierre carries the puck toward the faceoff circle to DiPietro’s right. As he does this, DiPietro is at the top of his crease and is prepared for a shot. Lapierre seems DiPietro commit to the shot so he slides the puck over to Chesley. Chesley redirects the puck with one touch right past DiPietro and into the goal. DiPietro shows a complete lack of awareness on this play as he never looks at Chesley on the left side. Not being aware of the left side of the ice, leads to DiPietro allowing the goal. Despite his athleticism, DiPietro can’t get move far enough laterally to get a piece of the puck.

September 27, 2025: Boston Bruins vs Philadelphia Flyers

DiPietro played this game in full and earned the win. He faced 27 shots and allowed 3 goals. Overall it was a better showing than his game against Washington, however there were still mistakes in his game.

1st Goal

This goal for Philadelphia was scored on a powerplay by Travis Sanheim. The puck was in the possession of Christian Dvorak behind the goal line to DiPietro’s left. Dvorak makes a quick pass Sean Couturier who is in the faceoff circle and quickly passes it back to Dvorak. Upon receiving the pass back, Dvorak slides it across the crease to Travis Sanheim who redirects it past DiPietro.

To many, this may seem like a goal that DiPietro had no chance on. This impression is especially strong since it occurred on the powerplay. However, there is a lot that gets missed as the play is unfolding. Sanheim starts the sequence behind the goal line not too far from where Dvorak makes his play on the puck. Once Dvorak reaches that space, Sanheim skates across the ice to the faceoff dot on DiPietro’s right. He crosses right in front of DiPietro who pays zero attention to him for the duration of the play. One Sanheim gets to the faceoff dot, he circles back and gets in behind Zadorov to his scoring spot. The lack of awareness puts DiPietro’s ability to make this save entirely on his athleticism (and size).

This goal also shows why a player’s measurements matter. Especially when factored in with the other aspects of their game. Due to his 6’1″ height, DiPietro needs to have a higher sense of awareness on this play. His athleticism always him to almost make the save, despite how open Sanheim was. However, if he is even 2 inches taller, his skate is able to deflect the puck.

2nd Goal

This goal is scored when Nikita Grebenkin bats the puck out of the air and into the goal. To get to this point, the puck deflected off the post and went behind DiPietro off a play down low. It’s the play down low to DiPietro’s left that he could have done things different to prevent the goal. Zegras throws the puck on goal with his backhand from the top of the faceoff circles. The puck deflects off Grebenkin and goes to the DiPietro’s lower left corner. Cameron York passes in front of DiPietro so he ends up losing the puck. When DiPietro locates the puck, he elevates his elbow to block the upper part of the goal. This keeps his glove well below the edge of his leg pad. This exposes the entire upper portion of the goal as York makes a back-handed attempt on the puck. York gets a little luck as the puck deflects off the post to Grebenkin who ends up putting it in. From the angles available, it appears that the deflection off the goal post could have actually crossed the goal line.

Whether it was Grebenkin or York who ACTUALLY scored, doesn’t matter. This goal was a result of a combination of multiple things. DiPietro’s poor lateral movement and glove positioning were key factors. However, it was his lack of covering the upper portion of the net that stands out the most.

3rd Goal

This was another powerplay goal which was the result of DiPietro putting himself out of position. There is not a single Bruin, DiPietro included, who is paying attention to Travor Zegras on this play. Zegras skates to the corner and gets to the bottom of the faceoff circle unmarked. As Mitchkov touches the puck at the top of the circles, DiPietro starts to drop to his pad. This movement commits him to a shot. Seeing this, Mitchkov dishes a pass to Zegras in the corner. Having committed to the shot, DiPietro is unable to full go from side-to-side to make the save. Zegras has a lot of time to receive the pass and produce a quality shot on the open goal. DiPietro hasn’t even started his lateral movement by the time the puck is on the blade of Zegras’s stick.

As I’ve pointed out a few times already, DiPietro shows he athleticism again on this attempt. He almost gets to his post with his glove to catch a piece of the puck. Again, another instance where a taller goaltender might make the save.

Overall Analysis

DiPietro is an extremely athletic goaltender. He is capable of highlight reel saves and keeping his team in the game. His 6’1″ frame exposes when he struggles in tracking the puck, especially when there is traffic in front of him. His lateral movements are very solid when he is able to properly push off his back leg. His glove needs work along with adjusting to the faster pace of the play.

DiPietro struggles to track the puck. His awareness of the entire ice is lacking. These deficiencies are magnified due to the faster pace of the NHL. In order to learn and adjust to the quicker pace, DiPietro needs playing time in the NHL. His athleticism provides a justification for chances to see if he can make the final adjustments. However, his size works against him as he will continue to have near misses until his anticipation improves. Most NHL organizations aren’t in a position to develop a 26 year old goaltender at the NHL level. He will continue to be a teams 3rd option and will have a great career in the AHL.