By: Jason Cooke | Follow me on X @cookejournalism
The Boston Bruins aren’t mathematically eliminated from a spot in the postseason. But with eight games remaining in the season, Boston sits eight points removed from the second Wild Card team with six clubs positioned ahead of them vying for a playoff ticket. The odds aren’t exactly in the Bruins’ favor.
It would be one thing if Boston was finding an extra gear with the possibility of a playoff spot still looming, but that couldn’t be further from the case. Boston is riding an eight-game slide into Tuesday’s home game against Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals — not the recipe for compiling points and bringing playoff hockey to Causeway Street.
If the Bruins fail to clinch a Wild Card spot — as all signs are currently indicating — it will mark the end of an era in Boston that yielded eight consecutive appearances in the postseason. The Bruins have been a playoff contender every season since 2015-16, notably appearing in a Stanley Cup Final in 2019 before a first-round dispatching at the hands of the Florida Panthers in 2023 after a historic 65-win regular season.
To make matters worse, the 2024-25 campaign boded to be another season where Boston would be a playoff contender, signing touted free agents Elias Lindholm and Nikita Zadorov to contracts to strengthen a lineup that looked promising on paper only for poor goaltending, defensive breakdowns and an inept scoring offense to plague the team for prolonged stretches of the season. That’s what got us here.
So even while TD Garden won’t be filled with roaring B’s fans in May with Stanley Cup dreams, the Bruins can still make a statement in the final games of the season — one that can leak into the summer and ultimately how Bruins brass plans to continue the ongoing retooling process. Here is what I’m looking for in the homestretch:
Can Jeremy Swayman Find His Game?
The Bruins could lose all eight remaining games of the season, but if Jeremy Swayman seems to find even a little bit of his game, Boston will have something to hang its hat on going into the offseason. Swayman has been, to put it bluntly, bad. Very bad. His 0.893 save percentage is nowhere near the 0.916 he boasted last season, and it certainly is lightyears away from the 0.933 that shocked the NHL in the playoffs last spring.
Swayman has been off this season. And while we can speculate as to whether the poor performance can be a result of a missed training camp as a result of the contract negotiations that dominated the summer, there isn’t something direct that can be blamed for this below-average season between the pipes.
Of course, the defense in front of him has been shaky at best — and that certainly isn’t helping pad Swayman’s numbers in the crease. But Swayman has gotten beat point-blank far too many times this winter, especially for a goalie who inked a long-term contract as one of the key pillars of the franchise for years to come.
In his last five games, Swayman has allowed a staggering 22 goals. I’d look for him to see if he can build some confidence toward the end of the season to close a painful season with some optimism moving forward. It certainly won’t be easy against Ovechkin and the powerful Capitals on Tuesday at TD Garden.
Is Casey Mittelstadt Part of Bruins’ Future?
The Bruins’ trade deadline was certainly unfamiliar territory for an organization that is almost always adding pieces to fund a playoff run. Boston didn’t just sell. They completely reset, dealing Brad Marchand, Charlie Coyle, Brandon Carlo and Trent Frederic, among others to take advantage of a seller’s market.
Among the returns the Bruins received, Casey Mittelstadt has emerged as a candidate to be a piece of the Bruins’ future plans moving forward. He’s only tallied four points in 10 games since joining the club, but the 26-year-old forward has shown glimpses of being a formidable replacement for Charlie Coyle.
A player packed with speed and skill, Mittelstadt could very well be a cog in a Boston lineup next winter as the club looks to pinpoint which players are a part of their plans in the next era of Bruins hockey. If they can get the player that produced 15-44-59 in Buffalo, Boston has themselves its next middle-six stalwart. Look for Mittelstadt to audition for the role down the stretch.
Can Mason Lohrei Continue to Progress?
If one aspect of Boston’s future is for certain, it’s Mason Lohrei’s role on the backend. The 24-year-old blueliner has begun to blossom in his role on the backend with Charlie McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm on the shelf, giving Bruins fans a sneak peek of what the 6-foot-5 offensively minded defenseman could bring to Boston for years to come.
He’s already proved his worth as a two-way blueliner who can create offense on the rush. But as he’s done all season, Lohrei’s continued development as a defenseman will be crucial in the final eight games this month. While his minus 34 isn’t exactly indicative solely of his play, he’s still shown hiccups in his game smeared by turnovers and giveaways that lead to the puck in the back of the net for the opposition. If Lohrei can sharpen those traits this month, look for him to shine with McAvoy in Boston’s top pairing next fall.
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