Boston Bruins
The Bruins need to play 25 video games over the ultimate eight weeks of the 2025-26 season.
After almost three weeks off the ice, the Boston Bruins will resume play on Thursday after they host the Columbus Blue Jackets at TD Backyard.
Whereas each Charlie McAvoy and Jeremy Swayman are nonetheless relishing Crew USA’s gold-medal win over Canada on the 2026 Winter Olympics, the Bruins don’t have a lot time to relaxation on their laurels popping out of their prolonged break.
The Bruins presently sit within the second Wild Card spot within the Jap Convention with a 32-20-5 file and 69 factors. The Blue Jackets are 4 factors behind Boston within the standings just under the playoff cut-off line.
Thursday’s key bout towards Columbus will mark the beginning of a dash to the end line for Boston, with 25 video games on the regular-season slate over the ultimate eight weeks.
The Bruins and first-year head coach Marco Sturm have exceeded expectations up to now this season in what was as soon as envisioned to be one other rebuilding yr for the Unique Six franchise.
Nonetheless, there’s no assure that this roster can be taking part in playoff hockey in April — not with each NHL membership afforded a clear slate of some kind after that multi-week Olympic break.
Because the Bruins return to the ice Thursday, listed here are 4 issues value following as Boston begins its stretch run.
Will Boston hit the ice operating?
A number of Bruins skaters doubtless welcomed the chance to relaxation their our bodies amid a busy schedule from October to February. Nonetheless, this prolonged break may need arrived at an inopportune time for Boston.
Even with Boston in the end falling in a shootout towards each the Lightning and Panthers going into the Olympic break, the Bruins had been taking part in a few of their greatest hockey simply earlier than the league went on pause.
As soon as considered as a fringe playoff crew on the surface trying in on the logjammed Jap Convention standings, the Bruins manufactured some respiratory room attributable to their stellar play for the reason that calendar flipped to 2026.
Beginning with a victory over the Oilers on New Yr’s Eve, Boston is 12-2-3 over its final 17 video games.
However can they hold that momentum going after being off the ice for almost a month?
Beginning with that matchup towards Columbus, the Bruins can’t sleepwalk out of the gate throughout that last stretch of video games — not with so many groups nipping on their heels within the standings.
In fact, each different NHL crew is in the identical boat on the subject of beginning anew at this stage of the league calendar — with groups spiraling earlier than the break given an opportunity to metal themselves, and groups within the midst of a heater now doubtlessly cooled off.
Nonetheless, there are some positives to attract from Boston’s prolonged day off.
Gamers coping with bumps and bruises must be in a significantly better spot because of the break, with a participant like Pavel Zacha — concussed on Jan. 29 towards the Flyers — in line to play on Thursday with none restrictions.
The Bruins additionally appeared to dodge a bullet on the subject of the well being of their prime gamers on the Olympic stage. Whereas the Penguins (Sidney Crosby) and Kings (Kevin Fiala) noticed key cogs go down with accidents in Milan, the Bruins’ prime gamers like McAvoy, Swayman, David Pastrnak, Hampus Lindholm, and Elias Lindholm all appear to be in good standing for this stretch run.
Youthful gamers like Fraser Minten (29 factors) and Marat Khusnutdinov (26 factors) — each of their first full season within the NHL ranks — also needs to profit from a breather as they attempt to keep away from hitting the proverbial wall throughout an 82-game gauntlet.
Can they repair their most evident flaws?
The 2025-26 Bruins have cultivated a sustainable formulation towards piling up factors within the standings this season.
Their offense has punched above its weight all season lengthy. Whereas David Pastrnak (71 factors) and Morgan Geekie (32 objectives) have led the cost, Boston has 11 completely different gamers who’ve recorded at the least 20 factors on the yr.
Boston’s energy play has been potent all season — rating third within the NHL with a 26.3 p.c success price. Despite all of the punishment doled out against him, Charlie McAvoy is taking part in among the greatest hockey of his profession.
And after a misplaced season between the pipes in 2024-25, Jeremy Swayman has been the good equalizer in internet — rating fourth within the NHL amongst certified goalies in objectives saved above anticipated at 16.2 (per MoneyPuck).
Nonetheless, there are two obvious flaws that Sturm and his employees have to shore up — a porous penalty kill and a knack for ending up within the sin bin.
As dynamic as Boston’s man benefit has been, their shorthanded unit has labored. The Bruins have negated simply 76.4 p.c of opposing energy performs this season, rating twenty eighth within the league.
Because the begin of 2026, Boston’s PK is barely killing off 64.8 p.c of opposing energy performs. Solely the Vancouver Canucks (56.1 p.c) have been worse over that very same stretch.
One strategy to shore up that unit may be rooted in not having Boston’s prime penalty killers operating on fumes attributable to a number of stints within the sin bin. Penalty woes have been a difficulty all season with Sturm’s crew, with Boston rating second within the league in penalty minutes per sport at 13.5.
Limiting these stick infractions and different lapses in self-discipline ought to at the least restrict among the devastating domino impact that comes with groups touchdown punches towards Boston on the ability play.
What is going to they do on the commerce deadline?
At one level in mid-December, a scuttling Bruins crew appeared destined to unload belongings forward of the NHL’s commerce deadline on March 6.
That would nonetheless be on the desk for Don Sweeney and the Bruins — especially after the team replenished its prospect pool and restocked its cupboard of draft picks after final season’s roster teardown.
But it surely’s much more sophisticated this time round, particularly with Boston now within the playoff image.
With simply 4 video games separating Boston from the commerce deadline, the Bruins don’t precisely have a whole lot of runway left to find out which path to take.
Boston might nonetheless choose to half with a number of gamers who might not be a part of the crew’s long-term plans, particularly pending free brokers like Viktor Arvidsson and Andrew Peeke.
However dealing a top-six participant like Arvidsson — who ranks third on the crew in 5-on-5 factors — would also significantly hinder this current team’s hopes for a playoff push.
Given Boston’s precarious playoff positioning and the crew’s give attention to long-term rivalry with its burgeoning pipeline of younger expertise, don’t count on the Bruins to be available in the market for leases in the event that they do look to purchase.
However very similar to Boston’s reported interest in Ramsus Andersson earlier this season, might Sweeney and his employees peruse the market to try to poach gamers who can each assist this crew in 2026 and past?
Very similar to how Boston invested in each the current and future after they traded for Hampus Lindholm in 2022, the Bruins might enter the bidding struggle for potential franchise fixtures dangled out available on the market like Robert Thomas, Jordan Kyrou, and Elias Pettersson — or depressed belongings due for a change of surroundings like Shane Wright and Braden Schneider.
There’s no assure that Boston has the urge for food to fulfill a few of these excessive asking costs. However with 4 first-round picks over the following two years and a number of other prospects flourishing, the Bruins at the least have the means to make some compelling provides.
May a youth motion be on the way in which?
Even when the Bruins don’t add any gamers earlier than March 6, Boston might nonetheless see a key participant be a part of their membership within the coming weeks in James Hagens.
The seventh choose within the 2025 NHL Draft, Hagens has loads of stress on his shoulders as a possible franchise fixture for Boston in due time.
However the Boston School sophomore has been as marketed up to now this season at Chestnut Hill — main all Hockey East gamers in each objectives (20) and factors (38) over 28 video games this season.
Projected as a top-six middle who initially drew comparisons to U.S. Olympic hero Jack Hughes coming into his school profession, Hagens has discovered loads of success this season taking part in on the wing in 2025-26 — recording 25 factors over his final 15 video games.
Given Hagens’ robust play down the stretch and lofty draft pedigree, it wouldn’t come as a lot of a shock if the 19-year-old ahead joins Boston in some unspecified time in the future this spring as soon as the Eagles’ season involves an in depth.
It would take a yr or two for a gifted playmaker like Hagens to seek out his footing on the NHL stage.
However very similar to Charlie McAvoy’s spectacular debut with Boston in the course of the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs towards Ottawa, Bruins followers might get a tantalizing preview of what a participant like Hagens might provide the crew sooner or later throughout his first cup of espresso with the membership.
Whereas Hagens may be primed to make the bounce to the professional sport, Bruins followers also needs to hold tabs on a number of different blue-chip prospects in Boston’s system — particularly breakout stars within the collegiate ranks like BC sophomore Dean Letourneau (18 objectives, 33 factors) and freshman winger Will Zellers (16 objectives, 31 factors for North Dakota).
They may be one other yr away from Boston, however the continued development of gamers like Letourenau and Zellers ought to spark optimism over the following wave of younger expertise set to reach on Causeway Road.
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