Marco Sturm didn’t sound like a coach interested in admiring the view from first place. Ahead of Tuesday night’s matchup in Raleigh, North Carolina, he framed it as the kind of game the Bruins need if they want to keep proving this start is real.
“Those are great challenges,” Sturm said. “It is the team you want to beat - that’s how I see it.
They did a great job last season, and they’re already in championship form right now, so it’s going to be great for us going into a game like that. Do our best to play the best to beat the best team, so that’s how I feel.”
That’s the assignment now for Boston, one of the season’s biggest early surprises and maybe the biggest surprise in the NHL through the first month. One month into the 2026-27 season, the Bruins sit atop the Atlantic Division with 19 points, a spot very few people would have predicted when the puck dropped.
The next checkpoint is a heavy one: the defending Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes, who await at the Lenovo Center in a battle between the point leaders in the Eastern Conference. It’s the Bruins’ biggest early-season test, and it arrives with plenty of momentum riding into it.
Boston has won seven of its last eight since opening with a 4-1 loss to the Ottawa Senators on Oct. 5 at TD Garden. The only blemish since then was a 3-2 defeat to the Dallas Stars in Texas one week ago. Otherwise, the Bruins have been stacking points and turning heads, a stretch that has carried them into the final days of October with real traction.
Now they begin a two-game road swing that finishes Thursday against former coach Jim Montgomery and the St. Louis Blues.
The setup is simple enough: if Boston keeps rolling, the conversation around this team gets louder. If it stumbles twice on the road, the story changes fast.
So far, the Bruins have leaned on strong goaltending from Jeremy Swayman and Michael DiPietro. Swayman is set to start in Carolina.
The younger pieces have also made their mark, with Fraser Minten continuing the form he showed last season and James Hagens and Matthew Poitras helping out in the bottom six. On the blue line, newly acquired Will Borgen and youngsters Mason Lohrei and Frederic Brunet have held up well.
That’s the backdrop for Tuesday night: a hot start, a stiff opponent, and a direct challenge from Sturm to see whether Boston can back up its standing with a win over the team everyone else is chasing.
In Other News...
Bruins Face A Tough Call On A Veteran Forward Drawing Buzz
The early chatter around the Senators search for forward help has put a few familiar names into circulation, and one of them is drawing attention inside the Bruins orbit. League talk has centered on a small pool of possible trade candidates, with Teuvo Tervinen, Michael Rasmussen and Andrew Copp among the players mentioned as options as clubs try to sort through a thin market.
For Boston, the interesting part is Mikey Eyssimonts place in the mix. He is in the final year of his contract and has been thriving with Providence, which makes him a useful depth option if the Bruins need help because of injuries and a player whose status can change quickly if the trade market keeps tightening. If the Senators or another team eventually come calling for forward pieces, Boston may have to weigh whether to keep a veteran who is playing well in the AHL or turn him into part of a larger roster decision. [Read more 🡒]
Bruins Send Young Defenseman A Clear Message After Rough Night
Marco Sturms decision to scratch Frederic Brunet for the game against the St. Louis Blues was a clear reminder that roster spots have to be earned every night, especially for a young defenseman still trying to settle in. Brunet had done enough in training camp to make the team and saw regular ice during Charlie McAvoys suspension, so his place in the picture has not disappeared. But after a difficult outing against the Carolina Hurricanes, Boston chose to give him a reset rather than let the struggles carry over.
For a Bruins blue line that has already leaned on several moving parts early in the season, the move fits the practical side of coaching as much as the developmental side. Sturm has shown he is willing to reward performance and pull back when needed, and Brunets situation is the latest example of that approach. The expectation is that he will get another chance soon, with Chicago next on the schedule, but for now the message from the bench is hard to miss. [Read more 🡒]
Bruins Forward Suddenly Enters A Rival's Search For Scoring Help
Ottawa is already working the phones for scoring help, and a Bruins fan watching the Atlantic may want to keep an eye on a familiar name. Senators general manager Steve Staios is exploring trade options for a winger after injuries thinned out his forward group, with Warren Foegele hurt and William Eklund sidelined following ankle surgery. The list of possible targets has a few different shapes to it, from established skill to more versatile depth, which suggests Ottawa is casting a fairly wide net as it tries to stay afloat offensively.
For Boston, the intrigue is less about the Senators immediate needs than the timing of any move. Staios would rather hold off on a major acquisition until the trade deadline gets closer, and that leaves this search in an early, fluid stage for now. Still, when a division rival starts looking for help on the wing, the market can shift quickly, and a Bruins-connected name could wind up in the middle of it before long. [Read more 🡒]