Very few hockey fans and pundits thought the Boston Bruins would find success this season. They clinched a playoff berth in 2025-26, but were defeated in six games by a Buffalo Sabres lineup that’s taken the Atlantic Division by storm.
Speaking of the Atlantic, the Montreal Canadiens have sped up their rebuild and are one of the league’s most exciting squads, while the Florida Panthers loaded up in the summer after they missed the playoffs last season, which ended a three-year streak of Stanley Cup Final appearances.
But the Bruins are 3-2-0 through five games, capped with a 6-1 win over the Utah Mammoth Thursday night that saw forward David Pastrnak finish with four points and goaltender Jeremy Swayman stop 36 shots. As the Boston captain finds his offensive game, Swayman is off to a roaring start with a .932 save percentage (SV%) and one shutout in four appearances.
On Friday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Tyler Yaremchuk dives into Boston’s win over Utah and if they can stay competitive in a division that’s represented the Eastern Conference in seven of the last eight Stanley Cup Finals.
Tyler Yaremchuk: 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.
You can watch the full segment and the rest of the episode here…
