Boston Bruins
“I gotta have a look at some video immediately and determine tomorrow. And we’ll go from there.”
The one factor standing between the Bruins and a spot within the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs on Saturday was a win in any capability in opposition to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Motivated by a irritating four-game dropping skid on the street and refreshed from three days off between matchups, Marco Sturm echoed loads of optimism getting into Saturday’s matinee on Causeway Avenue.
“Hopefully, it will be a terrific day for the Boston Bruins. The blokes deserve all the things. Enjoying that nice all season lengthy. Hopefully, we get rewarded immediately, this afternoon,” Sturm stated. “We’re going to attempt to do all the things in our energy to make this occur.”
Such a outcome didn’t play out, at the very least not off of Boston’s personal benefit.
Regardless of holding a slim 1-0 benefit getting into the third interval, the Bruins let stated lead slip by means of their fingers, with Tampa leaving TD Backyard with a 2-1 victory — extending Boston’s dropping streak to 5 video games.
“We have been hoping for a giant day and afternoon right here in Boston. Sadly, it didn’t occur,” Sturm stated. “Once more, we’ve got to take a look at the positives. The optimistic for me is we nonetheless have two video games left, nonetheless in our management. We’re going to get again at it tomorrow.”
Regardless of Boston’s prolonged slide over the past week, the Bruins don’t have to stress a couple of late-season collapse amid their playoff push.
Even with Saturday’s loss, Boston nonetheless clinched a playoff berth on Saturday after each the New York Islanders and Detroit Purple Wings misplaced in regulation.
Nonetheless, the optics are regarding for a Bruins group that appears to be caught in a rut with playoff hockey proper across the nook.
Regardless of Boston’s five-goal salvo in opposition to Carolina on Tuesday, the Bruins’ offense has flatlined over the past week.
In 4 of these 5 losses, Boston lit the lamp only one time.
Provided that sustained stretch of listless scoring punch, might the Bruins flip to prime prospect James Hagens on Sunday for his or her street sport in opposition to the Columbus Blue Jackets?
The 19-year-old ahead — who signed his entry-level contract with Boston on Wednesday — was at TD Backyard on Saturday. However the former Boston School standout took within the sport from the ninth ground, with Sturm saying on Friday that Hagens wouldn’t play in opposition to Tampa.
“He simply wants time and to get used to our system,” Sturm said Friday of Hagens. “That’s the largest factor. I’m not going to throw that child in and have him fail. I don’t need to do this. So he’s heading in the right direction. That’s our subsequent step and we’ll take it day-to-day and discover the suitable time.”
Primarily based on Sturm’s feedback after Saturday’s setback, it stays to be seen if Sunday in Columbus is the suitable time for Hagens to make his NHL debut.
“I don’t know,” Sturm stated following the loss. “I’m simply not there but. I gotta have a look at some video immediately and determine tomorrow. And we’ll go from there.”
Even when the Bruins don’t essentially need to throw Hagens into the hearth straight away, their choices are restricted now that the expert ahead signed his ELC.
Boston can not ship him again to Windfall, nor can the Bruins keep away from burning the primary 12 months of that contract if Hagens performs underneath a sure variety of video games this spring.
Hagens is right here to remain. And given the opposite choices that Sturm has turned to seeking a scoring spark, it appears reasonably evident that Hagens deserves a glance briefly order.
On Saturday, the Bruins turned to Mikey Eyssimont as the newest participant chosen in Boston’s carousel of wingers for third-line obligation.
Skating on a line with Fraser Minten and Marat Khusnutdinov, Eyssimont landed one shot on aim and recorded one takeaway over 10:50 of ice time. It was the bottom ice time amongst Bruins skaters.
“I favored them, really,” Sturm stated of Boston’s third line. “[Minten] had two Grade-A probabilities. “However general they didn’t surrender a lot, so I didn’t thoughts them.”
Even when the Bruins didn’t cough up a aim when the Eyssimont-Minten-Khusnutdinov line was out on the ice — producing offense stays probably the most urgent concern for Boston.
Anticipated rising pains apart, inserting a participant with Hagens’ playmaking abilities and 0-to-60 skating burst would provide the next offensive upside at an space of the depth chart that would use a scoring enhance.
And even when Hagens submitted an identical stat line as Eyssimont with underneath 11 minutes of ice time on Saturday, one might at the very least spin the optimistic {that a} future franchise fixture is at the very least getting his ft moist and acclimated to NHL hockey with only some regular-season video games to go.
For now, the time is ticking for Hagens to get these helpful reps earlier than the postseason begins.
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