The Bruins keep giving people reasons to back off the doom-and-gloom.
Boston was not exactly a trendy pick heading into this season. The conversation around the Atlantic Division has mostly centered on the teams making the loudest noise - the Montreal Canadiens, who have sped up their rebuild and turned into one of the league’s most entertaining groups, and the Florida Panthers, who reloaded in the summer after missing the playoffs and ending a three-year run of Stanley Cup Final trips.
And yet here are the Bruins at 3-2-0 through five games, looking every bit like a team that intends to hang around. Thursday night’s 6-1 win over the Utah Mammoth was the clearest statement so far. David Pastrnak piled up four points, Jeremy Swayman turned aside 36 shots, and Boston walked out with a convincing result.
Swayman’s start has been especially sharp. Through four appearances, he has a .932 save percentage and one shutout, while Pastrnak is beginning to find his offensive rhythm again.
That’s the kind of balance that keeps Boston relevant in a division where the margin for error is thin. On Friday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Tyler Yaremchuk said he believes the Bruins can stay competitive in the Atlantic, even with the division’s relentless pressure.
“I was someone who said they believed this Bruins teams can be very competitive in the Atlantic Division. That’s very tough, because there’s seven teams in an eight-team division who all are in this “it’s playoff or bust” situation, and I include Boston with them.
When you have Pastrnak or a goalie as good as Swayman, or a roster that’s aging the way theirs is, you want to make the playoffs every single season. So far, they’re proving that they belong in that group.
It’s not just that they were a playoff team last year, they’re still a good, good hockey club, and last night, they smoked the Mammoth. I’m watching those power-play goals, and Pastrnak had two that I don’t think very many goalies are stopping.”
For now, Boston is doing more than surviving. It’s showing that, despite the outside doubts, it still belongs in the mix.
In Other News...
Bruins Youth Movement Suddenly Looks More Real Than Ever
Over the past 20 months, the Bruins have taken a hard turn from the veteran core that defined their recent past, trading away established names and leaning into a younger, more flexible roster. The additions of Fraser Minten, Marat Khusnutdinov, Casey Mittelstadt, James Hagens and JJ Peterka, along with the hiring of Marco Sturm as head coach, have given the organization a different look and a different timeline, and the early returns have been encouraging enough to make the plan feel less like a reset and more like a real direction.
A strong start to the season, capped by a 5-1 win over the Flyers, only adds to that sense of momentum. Boston still has roster business to sort out, with decisions ahead on pending free agents and the possibility of more movement before the picture settles, but for the first time in a while the youth movement does not feel theoretical. It feels like something the Bruins can actually build around, even if the next few weeks will say a lot about how far theyre willing to push it. [Read more 🡒]
Bruins Face One Big Pregame Decision As Flyers Come To Boston
The Bruins wrap up their three-game homestand Thursday night against the Flyers at TD Garden, riding the lift of a recent win that featured production from multiple scorers and a strong special teams showing. It has been a useful early stretch for Boston, which has already seen enough balance in its lineup to feel like there is more than one way to win on a given night.
Philadelphia arrives in Boston still looking for answers, having had a rough first handful of games offensively and on special teams. The bigger Bruins question is still a pregame one, with the lineup and goaltending picture not yet fully settled, and the decision in net carrying a little extra weight as Boston tries to close the homestand on a clean note. [Read more 🡒]
Bruins Head Into Road Trip With A Lot More To Like Than Expected
The Bruins left TD Garden with a convincing 5-1 win over the Flyers, and the larger takeaway was how many different parts of the roster chipped in. Boston moved to 4-2-0, got goals from Pavel Zacha, Mason Lohrei, Marat Khusnutdinov, Casey Mittelstadt and Fraser Minten, and saw Jeremy Swayman turn aside 14 shots in a game that never felt especially dangerous for the home side.
Now comes the part that will tell a lot more about what this start really means: a four-game road trip beginning in San Jose. Early-season home wins can cover over a few things, but the Bruins are heading west with some momentum and a deeper scoring mix than expected, which makes the trip a useful early test of whether this group can carry those contributions away from Boston. [Read more 🡒]