Boston Bruins
“I think it was one of the most complete games we played all year long.”
COMMENTARY
The Bruins haven’t exactly had much smooth sailing during the 2025-26 season.
Rather, their progression from October through mid-January has been about as even and smooth as a potholed-riddled stretch of 93 South in the cold of winter.
Be it their compressed scheduled or reworked roster, Boston’s campaign has been rife with peaks and valleys — making it tough to gauge just what type of ceiling (and frankly, floor) this team boasts.
After winning their first three games of the new season, Boston dropped six losses in a row.
That was followed up by an 8-1 run, only to then mire in a 3-5 stretch as injuries sapped away talent from the roster.
Boston then won six out of its next eight games … only to usher in the holiday season with an 0-4-2 stretch that raised more fears that another roster sell-off awaited in the springtime.
But just before the calendar flipped to 2026, Marco Sturm’s club has once again managed to pull itself up off the map.
Following Tuesday’s 3-0 win over the Red Wings — Boston’s fourth in a row — the Bruins have won six out of their last seven games.
It stands as further validation that the Bruins’ current campaign has been about as linear as the Yankee Cannonball up at Canobie Lake.
But Sturm — who has had a front-row seat to Boston’s roller-coaster campaign — believes this recent surge might be different.
“I think it was one of the most complete games we played all year long,” Sturm said of Boston’s 3-0 win against Detroit Tuesday. “Just 5-on-5 [play]. Those are the games we have to take advantage of a little bit. … I think guys were just ready to go today.
“I think right from the start. … It felt like we were gonna have good energy, good juice tonight, and we kept it pretty consistent the whole game.”
Boston did benefit from Detroit arriving at TD Garden on the second leg of a back-to-back slate Tuesday.
Still, Boston largely dominated play against the top team in the Atlantic Division entering Tuesday, holding a 41-24 edge in shots on goal in the win.
While Jeremy Swayman stood tall with a 24-save shutout, the Red Wings had little left in the tank during crunch time — with Boston holding a 16-2 advantage in shots on goal over the final 20 minutes of action.
“Keep playing offensive. Keep playing aggressive, hitting guys. But making sure that we have great backchecks,” Pavel Zacha said of Boston’s play in the third period. “And I think we did that. We had our legs today. I think you could tell that all over the defensive zone, even on the forecheck”.
This is far from the first time that the Bruins have strung together a few wins – offering up hope that this scrappy roster could conceivably be in the mix for a playoff berth in the coming months.
But is this recent stretch of strong play the sign of what’s to come. … or another unsustainable segment destined to be cast aside when Boston’s warts present themselves once again?
If there’s reason to believe, it’s rooted in Boston’s tighter defensive play — and stronger results at 5-on-5 action.
Boston’s strongest stretch of games this year have usually coincided with their potent power play doling out plenty of damage, coupled with Swayman eliminating Grade-A scoring chances down the other end of the ice.
It’s easy to discern the link between Boston’s stout play and the resurgent play of both Swayman and backup Joonas Korpisalo in net.
Swayman’s 24-save shutout on Tuesday came just two days after Korpisalo — now sporting a .982 save percentage in his last two games — posted a 27-save shutout of his own on Sunday against the Penguins.
Those consecutive clean sheets stand as just the third time in the last 45 years that a Bruins goalie tandem has secured back-to-back shutout victories.
In total, Boston has allowed just three total goals over its current four-game winning streak.
“Best stat ever,” Swayman said of that mark. “Obviously, Korpi got it done [Sunday], and he’s just the best. So we got the monkey off our back and I got to keep up with him. It’s awesome that we have that high competitiveness. And again, shutouts aren’t done without the boys in front of us. So huge credit goes to them in getting the job done tonight.”
Of course, it’s not sustainable for both Swayman and Korpisalo to maintain a .980 save percentage over the final 35 games of the year.
But the sturdier play in front of both netminders has been encouraging, as has been Boston’s offensive production at 5-on-5 play. Over this 6-1-0 run for Boston, the Bruins have outscored opponents, 24-8, at 5-on-5 action.
Some of those stats are certainly inflated by Boston’s 10-2 beatdown of the Rangers on Saturday. But even when taking that game out of the equation, the Bruins still hold a 13-7 edge in goals at 5-on-5 action in their last seven games.
It should also come as little surprise that Boston has only given up three goals over a four-game stretch where they’ve been whistled for eight total penalties.
The Bruins are far from a finished product, nor can they overcome their flaws — night in and night out.
But when Boston can get out of its own way, Sturm’s team has the formula in place to grind out points and stay in the fight — especially when contributions across the depth chart are matched by the expected production of star players like David Pastrnak (15 points in his last seven games).
“We had a focus to try and stay out of the box tonight,” Sean Kuraly said of Boston’s play last Thursday after a win over Calgary. “We were better at that. We know the recipe going forward. We’ve just got to stick to it.”
It remains to be seen if this Bruins team has the talent in place to keep playing hockey come late April.
But the effort, identity, and resolve is evident in a Boston club that, once again, is making things interesting after seemingly flatlining just a few weeks prior.
“We have a pretty elite group,” Swayman said. “And that’s something that we can build on, and we know that when we slip, it’s next-man-up mentality. … It’s a long season, you’re gonna have ups and downs, but I’m just really proud of the group, the way that we do bounce back.
“We know every game — there’s a chance they get two points. And just staying in the moment consistently has been a good, effective plan for us.”
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