Boston Bruins
“I feel it was one of the crucial full video games we performed all 12 months lengthy.”
COMMENTARY
The Bruins haven’t precisely had a lot easy crusing throughout the 2025-26 season.
Relatively, their development from October by way of mid-January has been about as even and easy as a potholed-riddled stretch of 93 South within the chilly of winter.
Be it their compressed scheduled or reworked roster, Boston’s marketing campaign has been rife with peaks and valleys — making it robust to gauge simply what sort of ceiling (and albeit, flooring) this group boasts.
After successful their first three video games of the brand new season, Boston dropped six losses in a row.
That was adopted up by an 8-1 run, solely to then mire in a 3-5 stretch as accidents sapped away expertise from the roster.
Boston then gained six out of its subsequent eight video games … solely to usher within the vacation season with an 0-4-2 stretch that raised extra fears that one other roster sell-off awaited within the springtime.
However simply earlier than the calendar flipped to 2026, Marco Sturm’s membership has as soon as once more managed to tug itself up off the map.
Following Tuesday’s 3-0 win over the Pink Wings — Boston’s fourth in a row — the Bruins have gained six out of their final seven video games.
It stands as additional validation that the Bruins’ present marketing campaign has been about as linear because the Yankee Cannonball up at Canobie Lake.
However Sturm — who has had a front-row seat to Boston’s roller-coaster marketing campaign — believes this latest surge may be totally different.
“I feel it was one of the crucial full video games we performed all 12 months lengthy,” Sturm mentioned of Boston’s 3-0 win against Detroit Tuesday. “Simply 5-on-5 [play]. These are the video games we’ve got to reap the benefits of somewhat bit. … I feel guys have been simply able to go at this time.
“I feel proper from the beginning. … It felt like we have been gonna have good vitality, good juice tonight, and we saved it fairly constant the entire sport.”
Boston did profit from Detroit arriving at TD Backyard on the second leg of a back-to-back slate Tuesday.
Nonetheless, Boston largely dominated play in opposition to the highest group within the Atlantic Division getting into Tuesday, holding a 41-24 edge in photographs on purpose within the win.
Whereas Jeremy Swayman stood tall with a 24-save shutout, the Pink Wings had little left within the tank throughout crunch time — with Boston holding a 16-2 benefit in photographs on purpose over the ultimate 20 minutes of motion.
“Maintain taking part in offensive. Maintain taking part in aggressive, hitting guys. However ensuring that we’ve got nice backchecks,” Pavel Zacha mentioned of Boston’s play within the third interval. “And I feel we did that. We had our legs at this time. I feel you can inform that everywhere in the defensive zone, even on the forecheck”.
That is removed from the primary time that the Bruins have strung collectively a couple of wins – providing up hope that this scrappy roster may conceivably be within the combine for a playoff berth within the coming months.
However is that this latest stretch of robust play the signal of what’s to come back. … or one other unsustainable phase destined to be forged apart when Boston’s warts current themselves as soon as once more?
If there’s motive to imagine, it’s rooted in Boston’s tighter defensive play — and stronger outcomes at 5-on-5 motion.
Boston’s strongest stretch of video games this 12 months have normally coincided with their potent energy play doling out loads of harm, coupled with Swayman eliminating Grade-A scoring probabilities down the opposite finish of the ice.
It’s straightforward to discern the hyperlink between Boston’s stout play and the resurgent play of each Swayman and backup Joonas Korpisalo in web.
Swayman’s 24-save shutout on Tuesday got here simply two days after Korpisalo — now sporting a .982 save proportion in his final two video games — posted a 27-save shutout of his personal on Sunday in opposition to the Penguins.
These consecutive clear sheets stand as simply the third time within the final 45 years {that a} Bruins goalie tandem has secured back-to-back shutout victories.
In whole, Boston has allowed simply three whole objectives over its present four-game successful streak.
“Greatest stat ever,” Swayman mentioned of that mark. “Clearly, Korpi obtained it accomplished [Sunday], and he’s simply the perfect. So we obtained the monkey off our again and I obtained to maintain up with him. It’s superior that we’ve got that top competitiveness. And once more, shutouts aren’t accomplished with out the boys in entrance of us. So large credit score goes to them in getting the job accomplished tonight.”
After all, it’s not sustainable for each Swayman and Korpisalo to keep up a .980 save proportion over the ultimate 35 video games of the 12 months.
However the sturdier play in entrance of each netminders has been encouraging, as has been Boston’s offensive manufacturing at 5-on-5 play. Over this 6-1-0 run for Boston, the Bruins have outscored opponents, 24-8, at 5-on-5 motion.
A few of these stats are definitely inflated by Boston’s 10-2 beatdown of the Rangers on Saturday. However even when taking that sport out of the equation, the Bruins nonetheless maintain a 13-7 edge in objectives at 5-on-5 motion of their final seven video games.
It must also come as little shock that Boston has solely given up three objectives over a four-game stretch the place they’ve been whistled for eight whole penalties.
The Bruins are removed from a completed product, nor can they overcome their flaws — night time in and night time out.
However when Boston can get out of its personal method, Sturm’s group has the components in place to grind out factors and keep within the combat — particularly when contributions throughout the depth chart are matched by the anticipated manufacturing of star gamers like David Pastrnak (15 factors in his final seven video games).
“We had a spotlight to try to keep out of the field tonight,” Sean Kuraly mentioned of Boston’s play final Thursday after a win over Calgary. “We have been higher at that. We all know the recipe going ahead. We’ve simply obtained to stay to it.”
It stays to be seen if this Bruins group has the expertise in place to maintain taking part in hockey come late April.
However the effort, id, and resolve is clear in a Boston membership that, as soon as once more, is making issues fascinating after seemingly flatlining just some weeks prior.
“We’ve got a reasonably elite group,” Swayman mentioned. “And that’s one thing that we will construct on, and we all know that once we slip, it’s next-man-up mentality. … It’s a protracted season, you’re gonna have ups and downs, however I’m simply actually happy with the group, the way in which that we do bounce again.
“We all know each sport — there’s an opportunity they get two factors. And simply staying within the second constantly has been an excellent, efficient plan for us.”
Join the As we speak publication
Get every little thing it is advisable to know to begin your day, delivered proper to your inbox each morning.
