Practice Report: Bruins Olympians Return to Boston, Join Skate

BOSTON –– The Boston Bruins were a bit closer to full strength on Tuesday at TD Garden.

David Pastrnak, Henri Jokiharju, Joonas Korpisalo, Elias Lindholm and Hampus Lindholm all rejoined the team for practice after competing at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026.

“It is nice to have them back healthy. Today actually felt like a practice,” head coach Marco Sturm said. “The few days, it’s been tough; we only had three lines, it was just a little different. But we made it work, and today was definitely a better day."

Charlie McAvoy and Jeremy Swayman, who won Olympic gold with Team USA on Sunday, were not at practice.

“They deserve it. They accomplished something big. Winning a gold medal is obviously everybody’s dream. They deserve their celebration,” Pastrnak said. “Whenever they come [back], we’re obviously going to be happy. They’re a big part of our group.”

Pastrnak posted five points (two goals, three assists) for Team Czechia at the Olympics, which was eliminated in the quarterfinal against Canada. The Bruins' point-leader is now ready to work towards his group’s goals in Boston with 25 games remaining in the regular season.

“It was amazing, good experience. Unfortunate ending for us, but just another great experience,” Pastrnak said. “My focus already shifted a couple of days ago. Have a big stretch ahead of us, tough March with a lot of games. But we left ourselves in a good spot, so going to make sure we use these couple days to prepare. Big two games this week. Just kind of finish where we left off.”

Jokiharju and Korpisalo brought medals back from Milan, Italy. Team Finland beat Slovakia 6-1 on Saturday to earn bronze. Jokiharju led the B’s post-practice stretch in his return on Tuesday, cheered on by his teammates.

“It was awesome. Just being in the locker room with the guys, speak your native language, Finnish,” Jokiharju said of the Olympics. “I had family over there, too. My family came over, my brother’s family came over for a while, and my sister and her husband came over. It was, overall I will say, really one of the best two weeks of my life.”

Korpisalo filled one of the nets on Tuesday; Michael DiPietro, who was recalled from Providence on an emergency basis, was in the other. The Bruins have 16 games in March and are gearing up for the heavy workload.

“It feels pretty good. Getting back to the U.S. just a couple days ago, getting used to the timezone now. And throughout the tournament, a lot of practice, a lot of practice time. Just getting prepared, getting back to it,” Korpisalo said. “Whenever the coach gives me the nod, I’ll go in and do my best. Now is go time. This last stretch is huge. Seeing how many teams are within [such] close points. Every game is huge.”

The Bruins’ first game back is on Thursday at TD Garden when they host the Columbus Blue Jackets, who are four points back from the B’s, fighting for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.

It will be Boston’s first game action in 22 days; their last matchup before the Olympic break was on Feb. 4 against the Florida Panthers.

“It’s not just for us, I think, for everyone in this league, it is a challenge. You totally get away from the game and from the environment that we have here, but also, the good things that were happening around our team. The focus, the play, on ice, off ice. It was fun to watch,” Sturm said.

“That is going to be our focus again to have that game one on Thursday. Because you don’t want to lose that. We put ourselves in a very, very good position right now, and we don’t want to lose it. We want to stay in the hunt, and we want to continue to play the same way we did in the past.”