This Bruins team has showed us all season long exactly who they are, and they did that very thing again on Tuesday night.
On the heels of their general manager last weekend essentially punting on the rest of the season and confirming that UFAs like Trent Frederic, Cole Koepke and Justin Brazeau are in all likelihood not going to be returning to Boston as they go into sell mode, the B’s came out of the chute firing before lifting their collective foot off the gas pedal late in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs at TD Garden.
“If we play like that every night, we’ll win a lot of games. We obviously can’t give points up right now and we did that,” said Brad Marchand. “It seems like every time we make a mistake right now it ends up in the back of the net, so we need to limit them.”
The real mistakes weren’t getting beaten by skill guys like Mitch Marner in overtime, but instead allowing another backbreaker in the final minutes when the Maple Leafs created multiple scoring chances before pushing one past Jeremy Swayman. The Bruins surrendered the tying goal in the final minute with the Leafs goalie pulled, took an offensive zone penalty that got Toronto going in the middle part of the game and made some of the same mistakes we’ve all see over and over again this season.
That’s like the Black and Gold trifecta when it comes to the consistent losing formula seen from this group during this star-crossed hockey season.
On the plus side, the Bruins got another epic two-goal performance from David Pastrnak including a third-period strike that should have been a feel-good game-winner, they enjoyed a first period that was one of their best 20-minute stretches in recent memory and they salvaged another point while staying in sight of a playoff spot.
David Pastrnak extended his point streak to 15 games with a goal 29 seconds into the game. Only Ray Bourque (4) has scored more goals in under 30 seconds to start a game for the @NHLBruins than Pastrnak (3).#NHLStats: https://t.co/n2fVlR4bt8 pic.twitter.com/YK31KLX0Oo
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) February 26, 2025
But the overall result kind of confirmed everything that Don Sweeney uttered last weekend while analyzing this season’s underperforming group, a reality that is getting more and more difficult for the players to ignore.
"The frustrating thing is that we were able to retake the lead 4-3 and we weren't able to close it out,” said Pastrnak after it was all over. “We just need to get back on the winning track, honestly...put some games together and get that winning mojo. It wasn't a bad game. We just need to get a dub.”
The Bruins are now eight points behind for a top-three spot in the Atlantic Division and a couple of points behind in the wild card. It’s certainly within reach, but last night’s late defensive collapse illustrated how difficult points are going to be to come by with Hampus Lindholm and Charlie McAvoy currently out of the lineup and not close to returning.
The reality of that plus Don Sweeney’s weekend comments about the Bruins not adding at the deadline – and about UFAs aside from Brad Marchand likely not going back next season – seems to have hit home for the Bruins players even as they try and scramble for a playoff spot in an uphill battle.
“Our job is to focus on hockey games and winning hockey games for this club. You can’t look at the big picture. We are the players and they are management,” said Pastrnak. “They do their job, and we are doing our job.
“Obviously the times around the trade deadline are never fun, you know? That’s the business side of it. Obviously everyone can talk how much you want, but it’s obviously in the back of every guy’s head. This is the job that we have and it’s always the same around the trade deadline. For sure it’s in our head a little bit, but it’s up to us as players to focus when we have a game. Focus on what we can control winning hockey games and not focus on what’s going to happen after the game, or where you are going to dinner after the game. Just focus and stay in the moment.”
One thing that seems certain at this point for this edition of the Black and Gold is that Brad Marchand is going to return as long as he wants to be back. Sweeney said as much over the weekend as both sides figure something out ahead of the NHL trade deadline, and the B’s captain reiterated his desire to remain in Boston for the rest of his career.
“I’ve always planned on playing here my entire career. That hasn’t changed,” said Marchand after Monday’s practice at Warrior Ice Arena. “They’re aware of that. I think everyone’s aware of that. It’s a gift to be playing for this team and I take a tremendous amount of pride in that. It’s always been the goal. We’re obviously in [contract] talks. I feel like I understand where I’m at personally, but that is going to stay between us.
“I think the team has a very good understanding of what the team is, what they’re going to do. We’re very close to being in a playoff spot. A lot of teams have caught up in the standings, but we’re right there.”
What it all adds up to is continued disappointing results on the ice and a lot of uncertainty behind the scenes in a very different stretch run than the Boston Bruins have been used to over the last decade. They are very much on different ground than they are used to, and it could lead to the first time in a long time that the B’s are playing irrelevant hockey late in the season while using games to make NHL determinations on young players like Fabian Lysell, Georgi Merkulov, John Farinacci and others down in Providence.
Each loss like Tuesday night’s disappointing finish pushes them closer to being in that place and further from any tangible, realistic belief that they are Stanley Cup playoff caliber in any way, shape or form.