The Boston Bruins are gearing up to hit the ice again as they resume the 2025-26 season this Thursday night at the TD Garden. After a break of over three weeks, the Bruins will host the Columbus Blue Jackets in a crucial matchup for the Eastern Conference playoff race. Columbus is just four points shy of the second wild-card spot, making this game a significant one for both teams.
Several Bruins players who participated in the Olympics have returned to practice, including David Pastrnak, Henri Jokiharju, Joonas Korpisalo, Elias Lindholm, and Hampus Lindholm. Head coach Marco Sturm expressed relief at having his full squad back together.
“It is nice to have them back healthy. Today actually felt like a practice,” Sturm noted.
“The few days, it’s been tough; we only had three lines, it was just a little different. But we made it work, and today was definitely a better day."
However, goalie Jeremy Swayman and defenseman Charlie McAvoy are still with Team USA, fresh off their Gold Medal victory. With their absence, Joonas Korpisalo is likely to start in goal against the Blue Jackets, who have been on a hot streak.
The Bruins face a challenging March schedule with 16 games lined up. Yet, the immediate focus is on the back-to-back games against Columbus and the Philadelphia Flyers. Boston aims to maintain the momentum they had before the break.
“It’s not just for us, I think, for everyone in this league, it is a challenge," Sturm said about the return from the break. "You totally get away from the game and the environment that we have here, but also, the good things that were happening around our team.
The focus, the play, on ice, off ice. It was fun to watch."
Sturm emphasized the importance of starting strong on Thursday. “That is going to be our focus again to have that game one on Thursday.
Because you don’t want to lose that. We put ourselves in a very, very good position right now, and we don’t want to lose it.
We want to stay in the hunt, and we want to continue to play the same way we did in the past.”
The Bruins know that success in March is crucial, especially with a grueling road schedule awaiting them in April.
In preparation, the Bruins have called up goalie Michael DiPietro, adding depth to their roster as they head into this pivotal stretch of the season.