Boston Bruins
With Thursday’s loss to a rebuilding Nashville crew, Boston is simply 11-14-4 on the highway this season.
COMMENTARY
Don Sweeney made his intentions clear on Monday about his plans for an overachieving Bruins roster.
“We’d like to offer them a bump, as a result of they’ve earned that,” Sweeney mentioned of his plans for the NHL commerce deadline on Friday. “But it surely’s a watch in the direction of this 12 months, however shifting ahead as nicely.”
The 2025-26 Bruins have exceeded loads of expectations throughout Marco Sturm’s first 12 months as an NHL head coach — cultivating a hard-nosed, punishing id that has been readily embraced by a fanbase seeking to flush away the distress of final season’s implosion.
Getting into Friday, the Bruins nonetheless sit in a really precarious spot within the Jap Convention playoff image. Boston, 34-22-5, stays because the second (and ultimate) Wild Card crew within the convention, with a red-hot Columbus crew only one level behind them within the standings.
The Bruins, all issues thought of, look like forward of schedule of their retooling efforts.
However that doesn’t imply that this Bruins crew has earned the best to be a purchaser — not at this stage of its roster overhaul.
And particularly not after Thursday’s disastrous efficiency in Nashville.
Sweeney could be proper that this crew — by way of 61 video games — has put the onus on him to discover doable avenues to improve this depth chart earlier than an sudden playoff run.
However they haven’t carried out all that a lot to validate Sweeney’s seal of approval since coming back from the Olympic break.
In its 4 video games because the NHL resumed play, Boston has gone 2-2, dropping a pair of highway bouts to squads outdoors of the playoff image in Philadelphia and Nashville.
Thursday’s 6-3 loss to the Preds very nicely may have shaken no matter resolve Boston’s high brass had in investing on this group.
A victory over Nashville wasn’t going to be an announcement win, nor would it not have shifted any form of sentiment about Boston’s burgeoning standing because the scrappy membership few groups would need to face within the first spherical of the playoffs.
Slightly, it was two factors that good groups simply financial institution — particularly towards a Nashville membership within the midst of its personal roster teardown.
In what quantities to a frantic dash to the end line, Thursday’s sport on Broadway ought to have been a gimme for Sturm’s crew.
Not solely had Nashville (28-26-8) dropped 5 out of its final six video games coming into Thursday, but it surely had already offered off a number of items from its roster — delivery out Michael McCarron, Cole Smith, Nick Blankenburg, and Michael Bunting during the last three days.
On high of that, star heart Ryan O’Reilly was dominated out of Thursday’s sport on account of an upper-body damage.
Handed two factors on a silver platter, the Bruins as a substitute faceplanted at Bridgestone Enviornment.
Boston’s puck administration and D-zone protection have been laughably lax all evening. Joonas Korpisalo wanted a well timed save or two, whereas go-to choices like David Pastrnak had nights to neglect.
By the point Charlie McAvoy and Viktor Arvidsson lit the lamp within the third interval, it was too little , too late.
As a substitute of coming into Friday’s deadline with some momentum, the Bruins at the moment are again in Boston — their path ahead murkier than ever.
Sure, the Bruins are nonetheless within the playoff image as of Friday.
However they’re now 11-14-4 on the highway this season — an ominous observe for a crew that may play 12 of its ultimate 21 video games away from the pleasant confines of TD Backyard this season.
Their blue-line depth remains to be being examined, particularly on the best facet. Boston’s penalty kill is twenty fourth within the league.
The Bruins already don’t have an urge for food for leases. If the best deal comes alongside for a younger franchise fixture up entrance or on the blue line, Boston must be aggressive and opportunistic, given their abundance of commerce chips.
However giving up worthwhile picks, prospects, and different belongings for older gamers like Justin Faulk, Rasmus Ristolainen, and Conor Garland shouldn’t be the play — to not transfer the needle for this Bruins roster.
Boston may decide to face pat. Rolling with the identical roster that at present sits in a playoff spot — whereas holding onto all its first-rounders and prospects — nonetheless has the Bruins in a robust place shifting ahead.
However Sweeney may additionally additional pile onto his draft stockpile if he makes the daring resolution to maneuver off components from this roster.
Even a “mushy” promote in a market the place gamers like Nicolas Roy (1st-rounder), McCarron (2nd-rounder), and Connor Murphy (2nd-rounder) are netting worthwhile picks may result in sizable returns for the Bruins — particularly for pending UFAs like Andrew Peeke and Arvidsson.
On Monday, Sweeney pushed again towards discuss of dealing key gamers on this roster — even those that could possibly be flipped for future picks on Friday.
“I’m not simply in a rush to usher folks out the door which have helped us get to the purpose that we’re proper right here,” Sweeney mentioned. “If one thing presents and perhaps there’s a lateral state of affairs that improves our depth, then I’ve to do my job and discover it. However that’s not essentially what our intentions are. But it surely solely takes one cellphone name to alter that mindset of mine.”
Because the clock continues to tick down to three p.m., time will inform if one cellphone name — or one depressing loss in Nashville — would possibly shift Sweeney’s method on Friday.
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