(Jeremy Swayman) was really good and we obviously wanted to give him the start in the outdoor game," coach Marco Sturm told reporters in Florida. "And this one today I think is a tricky one. We have the Olympics coming up and (Swayman's) probably thinking about that, too. We thought Korpi was playing really well. (Swayman) had already played three games in a row, so there's a lot more to it. We hope Korpi will be the right guy.
In their last home game until February 26, the B's beat the Philadelphia Flyers, 6-3, on Thursday to sweep all nine home games in January and improve their home record to 21-8-1. Fraser Minten and Casey Mittelstadt led the way with three-point nights (1-2-3 totals each) and Jeremy Swayman made 33 saves. The only blemish on the night was the loss of Pavel Zacha to an upper body injury, leaving the game with 6:55 left in the second period. His prognosis was not immediately known.
But unlike the verdict in Manhattan, the B's were able to get the full two points on the table in overtime. It took just 15 seconds into OT. Mark Kastelic won the opening faceoff and Charlie McAvoy skated with it into the offensive zone. Marat Khusnutdinov jumped on for Kastelic and after a couple of passes, McAvoy sent a backhand pass at the top of the crease for the redirection goal for the 3-2 win.