By: Jake Ferraro | Follow me on Twitter/X @18Jxxx18
While the Boston Bruins’ 26 home wins lead the National Hockey League this season, the team’s road struggles have been an issue all season. The Bruins have lost 21 of their 34 road games this season. The Bruins’ road struggles needed to be improved if the team was going to make a push for the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs, and they have been lately.
The Bruins dropped their first two road games in regulation after the 2026 Winter Olympic break, but their last five road games have all resulted in at least one point earned, helping them toward a playoff push. The Bruins have a 2-0-3 record in their last five road games, helping them earn seven of a possible ten points. However, those are seven crucial points toward the Eastern Conference standings in a race that gets tighter with every game played.
The first of the five road games was a 5-4 overtime loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on March 8. Even though the Bruins lost a 3-0 lead in the game, earning one point against a team that would currently be in the 2026 playoffs was crucial. After the overtime loss to the Penguins, the Bruins earned a tough 3-2 shootout win on March 14 against the Washington Capitals, a team that is chasing them in the standings. Charlie McAvoy’s two-goal game and Fraser Minten’s shootout goal in the ninth round helped deliver an important road win.
The next two road games for the Bruins after the shootout win against the Capitals resulted in overtime losses to the New Jersey Devils on March 16 and to the Montreal Canadiens the next day. Even though the Bruins lost a lead in both games played, earning one point in both games was pivotal to help them in the standings. The point against the Canadiens was heavily needed to keep the hopes alive of jumping into a top-three spot in the Atlantic Division.
In the Bruins’ last road game against the Detroit Red Wings, it may have been the most important win of the season. The Bruins and Red Wings each had 84 points and held a playoff position in the Eastern Conference heading into last night’s game. After trailing 2-1 in the opening minutes of the third period, the Bruins scored three unanswered goals from Elias Lindholm, Nikita Zadorov, and Marat Khusnutdinov to win the game 4-2. Goaltender Jeremy Swayman arguably had his best game of the season by making 42 saves, and Zadorov’s goal was just his second of the season, but it couldn’t have happened at a bigger point of the season.
As of now, the Bruins hold the Eastern Conference’s first Wild Card seed with 86 points. With earning points in five consecutive road games, it appears confidence in playing on the road is back for the Bruins. The Bruins have two more important road games to close out March. The first one is this Wednesday night at KeyBank Center against the Atlantic Division-leading Buffalo Sabres at 7:30 p.m. ET, and the final one is on March 29 at Nationwide Arena against the Columbus Blue Jackets at 5 p.m. ET, who are currently in third place in the Metropolitan Division.
Leave a Reply