By: Ryan Jainchill | Follow me on Twitter / X @Jainchill_Ryan
With the postseason beginning this weekend for the 100-point Boston Bruins, it is time to look back at their regular season. It was a very successful year for a team that finished last in the Atlantic Division a season ago. They went 47-27-10, finished fourth in the division and secured the first Wild Card spot one year removed from selling at the deadline and undergoing significant roster changes.
This Bruins team has surprised many. Despite not having some of the mainstays of the past on the roster and being streaky at times, they have thrived. This squad is built on skill, speed, tenacity, defensive prowess and stellar goaltending, all of which have propelled them to the 100-point plateau for the seventh time in the last eight full seasons. Throughout the grueling regular season, the Bruins have shown their ability to win in every way imaginable and these five key victories have defined the team that will look to make noise in the postseason.
November 8: Boston 5, Toronto 3
After starting the season by winning three in a row, the Bruins went on a six-game losing skid, prompting many to question their identity. But after ending October 6-7-0 and on a two-game winning streak, the Bruins continued their hot streak into November. After winning three more to start the month, they traveled north of the border for a Saturday night matchup with the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena.
Toronto got the scoring started in this prime-time matchup, with Nicholas Robertson on the power play three minutes in. But 18 seconds later, Morgan Geekie went post-and-in past Anthony Stolarz to continue his scorching start to the season for his 11th goal.
Twenty seconds later, Viktor Arvidsson corralled a loose puck in front of the net and put it past Stolarz to make it 2-1 Bruins and stun the Toronto crowd, who had just seen their team take a 1-0 lead. With seven minutes to go in the first, Toronto would even the score on a goal from Matias Maccelli to make it 2-2 going into the second.
Right away, Boston got their first power play of the night and made it count. With time ticking down, Michael Eyssimont attempted to tuck one in past Stolarz from the right side of the net and on his second attempt, he snuck it under the Maple Leafs netminder to make it 3-2. Two minutes later, David Pastrnak took a feed from Hampus Lindholm, walked Simon Benoit and had it roll off his stick and past Stolarz for a highlight reel goal.
With six minutes left, Geekie had a shot blocked with an open cage and Toronto attempted to turn up the ice. Scott Laughton received a pass in his own end from former Bruin Brandon Carlo and was flattened by Nikita Zadorov, prompting Bobby McMann to stand up for his teammate and fight Zadorov. Laughton would be done for the night after the hit.
After John Tavares made it 4-3 late in the second, a crucial third period commenced for both squads. Boston, up a goal, was able to keep Toronto at bay, with Jeremy Swayman stopping all 15 shots and watching William Nylander ring one off the post. But in a poetic turn of events, with just over three minutes left, Mark Kastelic intercepted a pass and fed it to the former Maple Leaf Fraser Minten, who made no mistake and put the game on ice for a 5-3 Bruins win.
January 10: Boston 10, New York Rangers 2
Two months after the Toronto game, the Bruins were 23-19-2 and not too far removed from a six-game losing skid towards the end of 2025. They welcomed the 20-19-6 Rangers for an ESPN matinee and their first “white out” of the season. Right away, the Bruins trailed, as Mika Zibanejad got the Rangers on the board a minute in. However, that early strike was clearly a wake-up call, as Pavel Zacha potted two goals and Marat Khusnutdinov showcased his speed for a pretty goal to give the Bruins a 3-1 lead after the first.
The onslaught continued in the second. Minten scored two minutes in and after Swayman stopped Vincent Trocheck on a penalty shot, Khusnutdinov potted his second of the contest. Five minutes after that, Zacha capped off the hat trick with a snipe past Jonathan Quick to make it 6-1. After it became 6-2, Charlie McAvoy joined in on the fun and made it 7-2 after 40.
Boston did not take their foot off the gas in the third. Khusnutdinov finished off the hat trick three minutes in and Minten scored his 10th of the season to make it 9-2 halfway through the final period. On Minten’s goal, Pastrnak picked up his sixth assist. Finally, with a minute and a half left, Khusnutdinov tipped in a Henri Jokiharju shot for his fourth of the contest and to finish off a 10-2 dismantling of New York.
The first career hat tricks for Khusnutdinov and Zacha make them the first Bruins to score a hat trick in the same game since 1964. Khusnutdinov’s four goals were the most in a game from a Bruin since Patrice Bergeron in 2021. The 10 goals in the contest were the most by the Bruins since 1988 and while not scoring, Pastrnak’s six assists made him the first Bruin to accomplish that feat since Bobby Orr in 1973.
January 24: Boston 4, Montreal 3
The Bruins welcomed their storied rival, the Montreal Canadiens, for a Saturday night matchup in late January. Coming into the game, Boston, which occupied the second Wild Card spot, trailed the Canadiens by three points for the third seed in the Atlantic. Cole Caufield, who is commonly referred to as “Mr. Saturday Night,” got the scoring started in the first and a 1-0 lead for Montreal would hold after 20.
With an early power play to start period two, Minten fed a pass cross-crease to Arvidsson, who, after he was denied on his first look, potted the rebound to even the score. But after Zacha tripping minor, Caufield sniped one from the low circle to give Montreal a 2-1 lead.
To continue the trend of power play goals, Pastrnak took a feed from McAvoy, cut middle, and fed it back to Geekie, who slammed it into an open net to tie it up once again. However, Caufield, bidding for a hat trick, took advantage of a Pastrnak penalty and, from essentially the same exact spot as his second goal, got his third of the night to give Montreal a 3-2 lead after two.
Neither team was able to find twine for the first 12 minutes of play in the third until Minten took a breakout pass from Lindholm, cut into the zone, tried to feed it to Geekie, got it back and backhanded it past Samuel Montembeault to tie the game. Minutes later and on another power play, Geekie hammered one from the left circle that lodged itself in the net. Right away, Geekie knew it was in, but the officials believed it had gone out of play. After video review, the goal was awarded and Boston would hold on for a 4-3 regulation win.
March 21: Boston 4, Detroit 2
After the lengthy Olympic break, the Bruins returned to play in late February, tied for the top Wild Card spot. Three weeks after returning, the Bruins traveled to the Motor City for a pivotal matchup with the team they were tied with, the Detroit Red Wings. Both teams were sitting at 84 points and whoever came out victorious would have a huge advantage down the stretch.
It was not until three minutes into the second period that either team found the back of the net, as Lucas Raymond took a sweet feed and buried a power play goal. A minute later, Boston was given a five-on-three and Pastrnak capitalized, wiring one bar-down past netminder John Gibson. The teams remained tied after 40 minutes.
To open the third, Alex DeBrincat sniped one past Swayman to give Detroit the lead with 15 minutes left. In need of a spark, especially one coming from players who had been cold since the break, Elias Lindholm took a cross-ice feed from Geekie and tied the game with 12 minutes left in regulation. Minutes later, once again, Zadorov, a defenseman who is not known for his offense, used his speed to get over the blue line and muscle one past Gibson for a 3-2 lead with just over 10 minutes remaining.
Down the stretch, new Bruin Lukas Reichel was denied on a penalty shot by Gibson, keeping the lead to 3-2. In need of some key saves, Swayman came up large, stopping 22/23 in the third period to preserve the lead, including some massive stops late on DeBrincat. Khusnutdinov buried one into the empty cage with 1:52 left and Swayman finished with 42 saves to give the Bruins momentum and an edge on their Wild Card foes.
March 29: Boston 4, Columbus 3 (SO)
A week after beating Detroit, the Bruins traveled to Columbus for the back half of a back-to-back. The Blue Jackets went into the contest in the second Wild Card spot, three points back of Boston and only one point clear of the Ottawa Senators. This was a pivotal game for both teams. In need of another two points, Boston struggled right away.
Boone Jenner opened the scoring six minutes in and Mason Marchment made it 2-0 a minute later. Needing a jolt, Kastelic fought Erik Gudbranson and Tanner Jeannot exchanged blows with a tough customer in Mathieu Olivier in an effort to spark the team. However, former Bruin Charlie Coyle capitalized on a late power play to make it 3-0 Columbus after one.
In the second, the Bruins started to turn the tide, outshooting Columbus 13-5 but were unable to beat Jet Greaves. Down three in the third, McAvoy finally got the Bruins on the board with a long-range shot and on a power play two minutes later, Zacha continued his stellar month of March to make it 3-2.
With time ticking down, Jenner was called for a trip, giving the Bruins a power play with 42 seconds left. As time neared its expiration, Zacha corralled an Arvidsson pass netfront and beat Greaves with 11 seconds to send the game to overtime.
After a clean three-on-three, the game headed to a shootout. With Columbus shooting first, Swayman stoned Adam Fantilli. Minten stepped up first for Boston and beat Greaves to the blocker side for a 1-0 lead. After both goalies made saves in the second round, Coyle beat Swayman to even it at one. With a chance to win it, Arvidsson went backhand-forehand-backhand and beat Greaves for the win and a crucial come-from-behind victory.
Comebacks, great performances, winning low-scoring games and beating teams when they needed to were staples for the Bruins in the regular season. With the postseason typically being low-scoring, physical affairs where your skill players need to perform, Boston has shown they can do that numerous times this season and are in a position to continue that when they face the Atlantic winning Buffalo Sabres in the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
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