No doubt, the Boston Bruins’ 2024-2025 season was a heartbreaker. Not only did the team end their run of 8 consecutive seasons with a postseason appearance, but the team also saw the departure of beloved players at the trade deadline. 

After a strong draft and a decent free agency, as well as hiring Marco Sturm as their new head coach, the Boston Bruins headed into the 2025-2026 season, reshaping their team identity. They added players like Victor Arvidsson for top 6 scoring help, Tanner Jeannot for a physically gritty bottom 6 role, as well as a few other players.

The Bruins are a part of the Atlantic division, which is considered to be the toughest out of the 4 NHL divisions, not to mention the Eastern Conference (which the Atlantic division is a part of) in its entirety. As of right now, the difference in points between first and last in the Atlantic division is only 7 points. 

The Eastern conference is just as tight, with the difference between 1st and 12th being only 8 points. For reference, the difference in points between 1st and 12th in the Western Conference is 22 points. That’s a major difference between how close each conference is, and the Bruins will need to have a strong rest of the season in order to reach the playoffs again.

The Bruins did have a good start to the season, winning 3 straight, but then proceeded to lose 6 straight games. After winning a game, then losing one after, the team went on a 6-game heater. Their streak came to an end the next game, where the Bruins got handed their second loss to the Ottawa Senators this season. 

The game after that, against the rival Montreal Canadians, came with a major loss for the team. Although they would end up winning the game 3-2 in overtime, during regulation, star defenseman Charlie McAvoy would take a deflected puck right to the face, resulting in a fractured jaw. During McAvoy’s absence, the team went 5-5, putting them at an 18-13 record. Also during that time, star Bruins forward David Pastrnak missed the last 5 of those 10 games due to an undisclosed injury. 

Pastrnak would come back on December 9th, when the Bruins faced off against the St. Louis Blues, recording 3 assists. He would put up a dominant 4-point night (2 goals and 2 assists) the very next game, showing how important he is to the Bruins by helping them cruise past the Winnipeg Jets in a 6-3 victory.

McAvoy would also return to the lineup that game, helping the team significantly (even tallying an assist) and overall being a big part of the reason for their win. The game after that, the team would take one of their biggest losses of the season, losing 6-2 to the Minnesota Wild.

Coach Marco Sturm said to the media following McAvoy’s first game back in the lineup, “He’s amazing. Just a great human being, a great hockey player. We missed him, and why I was not surprised [about how well he played his first game back] is because he’s a good player, but also you could tell the last 3, 4, 5 days he was so happy. He was so happy. He couldn’t wait to get out there, and he showed it again today.”

So, where it stands, the Boston Bruins are still missing some players for their roster. The most important one is Victor Arvidsson, who is out with a lower-body injury. The team stands 3rd in their division and 6th in their conference. They will have to fight for their spot in the playoffs, but with the development of young players and the players on the team having good chemistry with one another, the Bruins are more than capable of making the playoffs this season.