What do we make of the Boston Bruins’ five-game winning streak? Was it a desperately approached homestand against five tomato cans? Are they turning a corner?
The key can be found in the vibe they take on the road. None of the mechanical improvements in their game apply without the right amount of desperation, but the Bruins (27-19-2=56=.583) are really, truly in the Eastern Conference playoff eight as they fly off to Chicago to face the Blackhawks on Saturday night (8:30 pm ET, NESN, 98.5 FM).
Brotherly shove: There were three editions of the Battle of the Esposito brothers, as the Bruins swept the Black Hawks en route to the Stanley Cup in 1970 with Phil torching Tony for a hat trick in Game 1 of the Cup semifinal, their six-game war in ’74 that the Hawks led 2-1 before the Bruins reeled off three straight to earn their spot in the Cup final they would lose to Philadelphia, and Tony finally getting back at big brother in the 1975, best-of-three preliminary round, where the Bruins romp to an 8-2 victory in Game 1, lost Game 2 in overtime in Chicago, then in the final NHL game that Phil Esposito ever played together with Bobby Orr, the Hawks rode Tony-O in Boston Garden and upset the Bruins 6-4 despite a 56-19 shots disadvantage, effectively ending the Big, Bad era.
What’s different about this little uptick in results? (The Bruins just swept their five-game homestand.)
The 2025-26 Bruins’ playoff hopes are obviously based on good health, but hockey-wise they’re doing a way better job of checking and thereby not hanging their goalies out to dry with big-time scoring chances, especially over every line’s opening shift.
Throughout the game, the Bruins are doing a much better job denying opponents easy transport of the puck – through all three zones. And when those teams push – of course they will – the Bruins are making them dump the puck and work hard to recover it back to a point man. Then they position themselves to give Swayman a shot he can anticipate. The number of “high danger” attempts by Boston opponents has to be trending down, but I don’t live in the stat-based world so you won’t get that data here.
What Claude Julien called “layers” Marco Sturm refers to as reload. Boston’s reload on the forecheck has been excellent of late – opponents get nothing easy in transition, and even their good plays are met with another layer.
What we’re watching right now is Boston’s best hockey under Sturm. It all rolls into and from better decisions by the Bruins with the puck. It’ll be a challenge to sustain the level in Dallas if not Chicago, but the brand of attention that the Bruins are playing with now should give fans hope that the next downward segment won’t be rollercoaster bad.
If the Bruins can stay with it, they can be a harder out when things are not going well, and the points from those segments should get them into the playoffs.
The news that the N.Y. Rangers and Vancouver Canucks are looking to part with significant players bodes well for the possibility of acquiring right defenseman Rasmus Andersson from the Calgary Flames. Andersson is a strong, two-way stalwart in the prime of his career and in the final year of his contract. Most fans don’t want to see the Bruins reverse their 2025 trend and trade away a first-round draft pick, but Andersson is the player you hope a first-rounder will someday become. Add him to the roster, and the Bruins have the best top-four in the NHL.
Vancouver’s Filip Hronek will undoubtedly garner much attention, but the Canucks cannot improve if this right-shot defenseman is what they’re willing to move. Hronek, like Andersson, is a destination player, the kind you want to lock down for years to come.
The fact both of these guys could be on the block at the same time is the best news for suitors like the Bruins, who are yet to identify a long-term replacement for Brandon Carlo. The Bruins are a big-three-defense team now, and as such, even with Nikita Zadorov augmenting Hampus Lindholm and Charlie McAvoy, it’s imperative they closely consider such an opportunity to upgrade to an all-star level across the second pairing.
Andrew Peeke has been deserving of your 7th Player Award vote with his 2025-26 effort that has hit a bit of a wall. Henri Jokiharju has been reunited with Zadorov since McAvoy’s broken jaw Nov. 15 in Montreal forced him out of Sturm’s doghouse. Jokiharju had his own injury not long afterward but is now playing his best hockey since quietly joining the Bruins at the March 7, 2025, trade deadline. Jokiharju’s newfound ability to play Sturm’s man-to-man system and generally more intense game engagement allows Sweeney to remain patient about making that right-side upgrade, especially if Andersson is unwilling to extend with Boston according to Jimmy Murphy. Peeke, meanwhile, now helps hold down the third pairing opposite Mason Lohrei.
With newly extended Jonathan Aspirot showing he can pair with McAvoy, fellow left shots Jordan Harris and Vladislav Kolyachonok will find it difficult to break a healthy lineup. As it is, Kolyachonok can’t get in with Hampus Lindholm out.
Speaking of extra players viewing games (or their smart phones) from press level, winger Jeffrey Viel was traded today to the Anaheim Ducks for a fourth-round draft pick. Good for Viel, who also hasn’t been able to get a sniff of the lineup for some time now.
Another knock for Kolyachonok was the accompanying recall of journeyman defenseman Billy Sweezey from AHL Providence.
Meantime, Mikey Eyssimont is on the clock.
Rink Rap with Mick Colageo 