A funny thing has happened on the way to the Bruins ostensibly blowing up their season at the trade deadline after moving Charlie Coyle, Brandon Carlo and Brad Marchand.
Instead of going through the final death rattle for a team struggling to claim a wild card spot in the Stanley Cup playoffs, they have won two games in a row and played some of their most inspired hockey of the season. It culminated in a 3-2 win over the Florida Panthers on Tuesday night at TD Garden that included a stirring third-period comeback and a spirited end where Nikita Zadorov gave B's villain Sam Bennett a Boston beatdown for good measure.
Zadorov then gave a wave to the approving TD Garden throngs as he skated down the runway back to the dressing room after the moment pretty much everybody around the B’s has been waiting to see from the 6-foot-6 defenseman all season.
Are you not entertained? pic.twitter.com/MFXRQ0v2LB
— Joe Haggerty (@HackswithHaggs) March 12, 2025
“We played good hockey against a good hockey team,” said Zadorov. “There’s no quit in this team. Where we are in the standings is not where we want to be, so hopefully we can get higher up and match up against those guys in the playoffs. There is definitely history between these two teams even though I wasn’t a part of it.
“We’re just playing hard. I get cross-checked in the face, I am going to stand up for myself. It’s just a hockey moment there. I wasn’t thinking to send a message. We are gonna keep pushing until the end. Something is brewing for sure.”
They also did it all with Marchand watching up in the press box after skating for the first time as a Florida Panther at TD Garden for a morning skate testing out his balky shoulder.
Brad Marchand practicing in Boston in a Panthers jersey is like a Bruins fan’s fever dream
— Spittin' Chiclets (@spittinchiclets) March 11, 2025
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The Black and Gold are still hovering two points out of a wild card spot in the East with just the New York Rangers ahead of them, but it will obviously be an uphill battle for the postseason in terms of games played, and the subsequent games in hand every team has over Boston at this point. But the B’s do seem to be glomming on to a bit of an underdog role for the first time in a long time where most around the hockey world have already counted them out once the extensive rubble was cleared at the NHL trade deadline.
“I think so. I think the main message is that we are battling for each other in this room,” said Jeremy Swayman, who stopped 24 of 26 shots in the victory over the Panthers. “That’s all we care about is the guys in this room. I couldn’t be prouder of the effort and the way that we’re competing as a team, and the way we are being cohesive. And we’re obviously getting the results, so that’s something to build on and it’s a really good feeling to have.”
Clearly, they are still getting Hart Trophy-level play from David Pastrnak, who scored a power play goal to get the B’s going in the third and then made a great play setting up Pavel Zacha for the late third-period, game-winning goal.
Even more important was the way the Bruins held strong in the final minutes with the Florida goalie pulled, a staunch refusal to buckle under the Florida pressure being thrown at them that frankly hadn’t been there this season.
What’s so interesting is just how much faster, tougher and more connected hockey the Bruins are playing right now after adding a slew of new players to the mix. Casey Mittelstadt came to Boston with a bit of a mixed reputation after being traded twice in the last two years, but the 26-year-old has two assists in two games and, as-advertised, showed off some slick passing skills on the power play.
David Pastrnak cuts the Panthers lead to one with his 33rd goal of the season. One of the newest Bruins, Casey Mittelstadt, picks up an assist.
— Jamie Gatlin (@JamieGatlin17) March 12, 2025
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Likewise, Henri Jokiharju has stepped in and been extremely smooth on the back end while moving the puck, eating up minutes and avoiding the kind of self-destructive plays that had dogged Brandon Carlo throughout this season. Even old friend Jakub Lauko got into the action on Tuesday night when he scratched and clawed for a loose puck that eventually popped out to Mason Lohrei, who patiently waited for a shooting lane to open up before snapping one past Sergei Bobrovsky for the game-tying goal.
It was Lohrei’s fifth goal of the season and 29th point of the year as he leads all Bruins defensemen in offense and was excellent in the win with six shot attempts and three blocked shots in 19:47 of ice time. Both Lohrei and Andrew Peeke finished just under 20 minutes of ice time in top-4 roles along with Zadorov and Jokiharju and were excellent in terms of defending and puck moving against the always stiff Florida forecheck.
“It’s an emotional game and for a lot of our new players that was their first time playing at the Boston Garden for the [home team] and seeing what it’s like when the games are tight and you can feed off the energy in the building,” said Joe Sacco. “So that was new for some of the guys here now. It was just a good, spirited game.
“That’s the type of hockey we want to play. We’re not going to quit. We’re going to battle to the end. That’s the Bruins, right? That’s what we want to be.”
Certainly, it’s what they have wanted to be, and what they actually have been in short spurts during this lost, star-crossed season. They are playing solidly enough that they are even getting some of the other teams in the Eastern Conference worried that the Bruins are coming back from the dead.
Bruins making the playoffs after holding a fire sale would be the most Bruins thing ever
— Michael Traikos (@Michael_Traikos) March 12, 2025
It remains to be seen if the B’s can pull out a miracle and somehow still qualify for the playoffs in a season where they’ve fired their coach and traded away their popular captain, but they are starting to get people believing that the seemingly impossible is possible. What was once expected to be a very boring final month of the regular season with the Bruins playing out the string has been anything but that after a couple of quality wins against quality teams in Tampa Bay and Florida following the trade deadline.