If the Bruins have given you a headache this season, Marco Sturm can relate.
After beginning their season on a three-game win streak, the Bruins lost six in a row. Then they won eight of nine, headlined by a seven-game win streak. December (somehow) featured a four-game win streak and a six-game losing streak, and things have gone in the other direction this month, with wins in four straight and six of seven dating back to New Year’s Eve. Whirlwind doesn’t even begin to describe it, really.
But this is not something unique to the Bruins, according to Sturm.
“In general, I think we’re getting more confident now to stay at a good level, at a level we want to play,” Sturm said following Tuesday’s victory at TD Garden. I put more thoughts in the ups and downs. I also noticed there’s not too many teams who have gone stretches without it. It’s happened to more teams than you think. I went through all the teams and you would be very surprised. We are not the only ones.”
To Sturm’s point, the Atlantic-leading Lightning are currently on an 11-game win streak. The Lightning have also had three separate stretches of at least three losses. They’ve navigated through that with three stretches of at least five straight wins. Even the worst team in the division, the Senators, have six separate stretches of winning or losing at least three games in a row this season. Nobody is immune to the slide.
In Sturm’s opinion, much of that comes back to the truncated schedule where teams are almost prisoners to the proverbial wave of good or bad vibes depending on how that week is going. But with wins in four straight, the Bruins are spiraling upwards.
And with the team currently in a playoff spot, the vibes are high.
Zacha stays ‘shot ready’
Dec 4, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Bruins center Pavel Zacha (18) is greeted by the players on the bench after scoring a goal at TD Garden. (Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images)
After he scored three goals on three shots in last Saturday’s 10-2 demolition of the Rangers, you had to find yourself asking why doesn’t Pavel Zacha shoot the puck more? (That or how are the Ranges this bad?) It would not be the first time that Zacha’s heard that, and he’d be the first person to tell you that it’s been an ask.
“I’ve been told most of my career to shoot more,” Zacha admitted after Tuesday’s game. “I’m more of a passer myself, but sometimes when you play with great players, they’re giving you the puck and you’re more in the shooting areas than others.”
With the game-winning goal in this one, Zacha is now up to four goals in his last three games, and has 14 goals through 46 games this season. That has Zacha paced for what would be a career-high 25 goals this season, and it’s clear that Zacha has emerged as the top shooting threat on his line with Viktor Arvidsson and Casey Mittelstadt. Sturm acknowledged that Zacha has a “rocket” of a shot, too, but noted that hitting the net has been his biggest issue in the past.
“That’s just winning the puck battles one-on-one, and getting to the scoring areas there,” Zacha noted. “When you have it, take a shot, yeah.”
Swayman prepping for another run?
Jan 13, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman (1) makes a save during the first period against the Detroit Red Wings at TD Garden. (Natalie Reid/Imagn Images)
In two outings since the calamity in Seattle, Swayman has stopped all but two of the 53 shots faced (a .962 save percentage) and stopped all 24 in Tuesday’s win.
It’s early, of course, but it does remind you a bit of the heater that Swayman went on after he was embarrassed in Ottawa in late October.
Everything else
Sep 29, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins left wing Viktor Arvidsson (71) in action during the first period against the Philadelphia Flyers at TD Garden. (Eric Canha-Imagn Images)
– The NHL hasn’t tracked time on ice or shots throughout the league’s full history, but Viktor Arvidsson was part of a Bruins first on Tuesday night. On the board with 10 shots on goal in just 13:50 of action, Arvidsson actually became the first player in team history to record at least 10 shots while also playing under 14 minutes.
– The formula for the Bruins is pretty simple: Stay. Out. Of. The. Box. The Bruins were shorthanded just two times on Tuesday night (and they killed off both penalties). It was Boston’s 12th game of taking two penalties or less this season, and the team is now 9-3-0 in that 12-game sample. They’re 17-16-2 when taking three penalties or more, including a 9-7-1 record when taking at least five penalties.
– If and when the Bruins are fully healthy on the backend, what’s the move for Sturm’s club? The Bruins aren’t going to waive Jonathan Aspirot. And Jordan Harris is starting to work his way back from his ankle injury. If they get to 100 percent health, they’ll have to do more than waive Vladislav Kolyachonok. Of course, if this year has taught us anything, it’s that you worry about that problem when you get there.
– In a way, it makes sense that the Red Wings’ 100-year anniversary celebration is a bit more understated than most. That’s arguably been Detroit’s entire brand as an NHL franchise. They do their thing and that’s enough. But, it does feel like a bit of a downer that the Red Wings vs. Bruins games this year have felt like they would in any other year. A throwback-on-throwback game would’ve been aesthetically pleasing.
