The Sunday Read: Inside the Bruins’ Journey to the 2026 NHL Playoffs

BOSTON –– Marco Sturm remembers looking at his team’s stats just after Christmas.

The Boston Bruins were about to leave for a five-game road trip, followed by a five-game homestand. The first-year head coach knew the upcoming month could be make-or-break for his group, which had faced its fair share of adversity early on.

“We were close to .500,” Sturm said. “And all of a sudden, we took off. That was exactly that stretch. I think that, for us, was huge. After that, we found our game and our identity, and that was it.”

The B’s went on to win 11 of 14 games in January, cementing themselves in what would turn into a tightly-contested playoff race in the Eastern Conference. The growing pains had seemingly turned into a steady understanding of what the team needed to do to be successful.

​It landed the Bruins with a spot in the 2026 postseason. It is a fate that few outside the organization predicted ahead of training camp in September.

“I think based on what people were saying about us at the beginning of the year, it’s been a pretty good year for us. From the beginning, though, I don’t think we really believed what they were saying,” Casey Mittelstadt said. “We thought we had a good team, and obviously we have good leaders and really good goaltending. We like the way we are built.”

Mittelstadt, similar to the team as a whole, started to find consistency after the holidays. The 27-year-old forward was dealt to the Bruins in March 2025 at the trade deadline and had been working to find his purpose within the lineup.

While Mittelstadt had played his natural center position for most of his NHL career, Sturm decided to move him to the left wing alongside Pavel Zacha down the middle and Viktor Arvidsson on the right side. It was a new assignment for Mittelstadt, but he embraced it and has ultimately been a key contributor on one of Boston’s most productive lines this season. The trio has scored a combined 42 goals, which is a team-high.

​Pavel Zacha has had a career year with 64 points (30 goals, 34 assists). Viktor Arvidsson, who was part of a sneaky summer trade with the Edmonton Oilers, has battled with his heart on his sleeve for the B’s, while posting his sixth 20-goal season; he has 53 points (24 goals, 29 assists).

“There was a point before break – maybe January and into February a little – where everyone in the division was winning, and you couldn’t really make up ground,” Mittelstadt said. “But each night we just played, and we kept winning, too. It felt like we were controlling games, making plays, and defending well. Kept looking up and we kept winning when we had to.”

Mittelstadt had to adjust his game a bit to be on the wing, but he said having centerman experience actually helped him. He knew what to expect from Zacha because he was once the one making those pivot decisions.

“I haven’t played a ton of wing in my career; here and there in Buffalo. But it’s been fun. It has been a good fit, and obviously playing with two really good players and getting to know them, having a blast with them,” Mittelstadt said. “I think you’re able to see it a little differently from the wing…I think the wall play has been a strength of mine, but maybe more emphasized on the wing, spend a lot of time on the wall.”

Mittelstadt and his second line are one of many reasons the Bruins are now preparing for a playoff appearance. Another is the shutdown showing from Jeremy Swayman.

The goaltender has a career-high 30 wins, with a 2.76 goals against average and a .906 save percentage. Perhaps most impactful, though, are his 26.4 goals saved above expected, which ranks third in the league. That means Swayman has, essentially, taken just over 26 goals against off the board for the Bruins this season.  

“I think just the competitiveness has been at an all-time high. My experience to this point has helped me a lot; understanding situations, understanding the game,” Swayman said. “I’ve been through a lot of ups and downs, and that’s really helped me find my game in the right time. That’s something that I want to keep going.”

Taking home gold with Team USA at the 2025 IIHF World Championship and the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics boosted Swayman’s confidence, he said. He knows what it takes to win at a high level. Bringing that back to Boston has been rewarding.

“We have a special locker room that we’re able to translate on the ice – coming in with the right attitude and translating it on the ice the entire season,” Swayman said. “We weren’t listening to anyone else but ourselves in this locker room. That was a big motivator for us, just keeping what we can control in front of us and doing whatever we can to prove people wrong in a sense. It has been a really fun way to play, and seeing results has been a cherry on top.”

Swayman and Mittelstadt have not just had good years at the rink but away from it, too. Both are becoming first-time dads to their sons. It has put things in perspective for Swayman, who has grounded himself in family and fatherhood.

“Just really focusing on what is three feet in front of me. I have a lot of great things going on, we have a baby on the way, so that’s been really fun to hone in on and prepare for his arrival,” Swayman said. “The at-home life has been really amazing. My sister has been coming to town a lot with her son and daughter, as well. It’s been really nice to disconnect and really connect with family. And take care of myself off the ice as well.”

Mittelstadt’s son is due in mid-April – “playoff baby,” the forward said with a smile.

“It’s good. Maybe a little more stressful for my fiancée than for me right now. We’re very excited,” he continued. “It is obviously crazy, I feel like, especially during the season, her being pregnant the whole year has kind of made it go faster, and all of a sudden it’s here. Very excited. Ready to welcome a little boy into our family.”​

Morgan Geekie and his wife, Emma, welcomed their son, Max, in January. Geekie is another Bruins dad who has helped push the team into spring hockey. The 27-year-old leads Boston with 38 goals, including 12 on the power play, which is a team-high. Not every night is perfect for Geekie and the B’s, and they’re okay with that.

“I think we’re a pretty mature group and throughout the year we faced a little bit of adversity – especially at the start of the year, losing games. Just being able to forget, take the positives, no matter how few there are. Kind of just carry that over,” he said. “We’re a scrappy bunch and just find different ways to win.”

Part of that adversity was losing Charlie McAvoy for 11 games after he suffered a broken jaw and underwent surgery in November. The alternate captain returned sooner than anyone expected and got right back into the fight. Amidst a grueling rehab that still affects the defenseman to this day, McAvoy has put together a 60-point season. He is the first Bruins blueliner since Ray Bourque in 1995-96 to hit the mark.

McAvoy was nominated for the 2026 Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy on Wednesday. It is awarded annually to the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.

“We’ve gone through some stuff on and off the ice this year. We just keep kicking, show up every day, and just be thankful for everything that I have and the blessings in me and my family’s life,” McAvoy said. “Really grateful for my family and the guys, the staff, coaches, trainers and the guys that really helped me through this season.”​

McAvoy is a competitor. Nothing was keeping him out of the fight with his teammates.​

“This is why you play. You go through an 82-game grind just for a chance to fight for the ultimate prize. Making the playoffs is everything,” he said. “It is the goal for all 32 teams. And we’ve positioned ourselves, through a lot of hard work, to be one of those teams that gets a chance. We know it’s all right there, and we just have to see it through.”  ​

The 28-year-old is no longer the wide-eyed rookie making his NHL debut in the postseason, while it might seem like just yesterday. McAvoy is now a battle-tested veteran in the Boston locker room, acting as a mentor for the new class of youngsters on this year’s roster.

Age, though, has not hindered impact for this team. Just ask guys like Fraser Minten (21) and Marat Khusnutdinov (23). The two forwards have skated with David Pastrnak for chunks of the season and formed into difference-makers. Pastrnak has leaned into his teaching role, all while logging his regular dominant numbers; he is one point away from a fourth-consecutive 100-point season. Pastrnak also has a career-high 70 assists this year.

Minten is ranked eighth in points on the team with 34 (17 goals, 17 assists), and Khusnutdinov is right behind him with 33 points (15 goals, 18 assists). Both have seen time on the power play and penalty kill, too. And they’re all in on this run.

“It is the most fun [hockey], and probably the hardest, too. Just really high-stakes matches, everything’s really tight out there. Little details are turning out to be the difference every night. Loving it,” Minten said. “I think it’s easy to get narrowed in and look at it game by game. But I think if I look at it overall, I’m definitely happy with how things have gone from a whole perspective, from start to finish. But I want to keep growing and keep pushing the limits here, so continue to improve.”

​Minten has grown into his life in Boston, too, after getting traded from Toronto last March. He said he has explored the North End, Back Bay, Fenway and around Cambridge; his grandparents have paid him a few visits, as did his dad in the latter half of the season. Minten has still found time to keep up his reading, he said. He most recently finished The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway.  

“I love the city,” Minten said. “Big fan of living here.”

The Bruins have found the extra goal, blocked shot, hit, fight and save from up and down their lineup all season long. Following their 4-3 comeback win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on March 29, every player gave immediate credit to Mark Kastelic and Tanner Jeannot’s fights for the spark. Four days prior, Joonas Korpisalo made 22 stops in the overtime victory over the Buffalo Sabres, on the road, in the second game of a back-to-back after trailing in the third.

The 2025-26 Boston Bruins have not been a story of a single player. Rather, a group of them who rallied around a commitment to grit, hustle, and, most importantly, winning. It has given them a chance to compete for the ultimate goal.

​“It is a team game at the end of the day. We wouldn’t be here without everyone pulling the rope,” Swayman said. “That’s what we have in this room, guys who are able to step up any given night. I think that’s been a chain reaction throughout the entire group.”

McAvoy agreed.

“It has been an amazing year. To see what this team has done and how we’ve, I think, surprised a lot of people, that has been so fun to be a part of,” he said. “This will always be a team game.”