Joe Haggerty
28 articles published
Articles by Joe Haggerty
Haggerty: Recent B's play making it difficult for Sweeney
The read on the Bruins situation entering Friday’s NHL trade deadline is not an easy one for Don Sweeney and the rest of the B’s decision makers. The B’s definitely aren’t a perfect team as is the case with pretty much every team in the running for wild card playoffs spots, and the struggles on the road are a very real issue for the Black and Gold. The Bruins dropped their sixth road game in a row in a 6-3 loss to the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena where the hockey club was pretty much dead-on arrival in the second period and have now sunk to an 11-14-4 record away from TD Garden this season. If that continues the Bruins will not be a playoff team while playing six of their final nine games on the road this season, including a pair of games in Columbus against a Blue Jackets team that’s just a point behind them in the Eastern Conference standings.
Haggerty: Bruins 'proud' of themselves headed into break
The Bruins fell just short in a pair of road games in Florida leading into February’s NHL Olympic break, and most of Boston’s flaws were on display in both contests. But they also managed to secure points by showing their undeniable team strengths in both games as they did in Wednesday night’s 5-4 loss to the Florida Panthers at Amerant Bank Arena, and now sit comfortably in the second wild card spot with a four-point cushion headed into the season’s pause.
NHL Notes: Olympics both compliment and concern for B's
The obvious take about the Boston Bruins and the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan Cortina is that it’s a great reflection on their roster talent that they sent nine total players from the organization to the Olympic hockey tournament taking place in Italy. Charlie McAvoy and Jeremy Swayman were all decked out in their Team USA gear for Friday’s opening ceremonies, and David Pastrnak was honored as one of the flag bearers for Team Czechia during those same opening ceremonies. It was an honor that the 29-year-old was incredibly humbled and honored by, and it speaks to how big of a deal No. 88 is in a home country where he’s going to be mentioned in the same breath as legends like Jaromir Jagr when it’s all said and done.
Haggerty: No easy answers when it comes to NHL's Olympic challenges
With the Winter Olympics now underway, the NHL population has scattered to the four corners of the world aside from the lucky ones representing each for their respective countries in Milan Cortina this month. The Bruins players were officially underway on Wednesday with Henri Jokiharju part of a Team Finland group that struggled big time I losing to Team Slovakia, even as Joonas Korpisalo didn’t see any action playing backup to Nashville netminder Juuse Saros. Still not exactly sure what Jokiharju was doing backing off Juraj Slafkovsky on Slovakia’s first goal and essentially covering the backdoor while allowing Slafkovsky an easy, open lane to the front of the net.
Haggerty: Big highs/lows for B's players at Olympics
It’s been a fascinating case study of different circumstances on different teams to watch the Boston Bruins players perform during the Olympic tournament thus far with varying degrees of deployment and effectiveness. Jeremy Swayman got the start for Team USA that he’d been waiting for on Saturday night against Team Denmark and Swayman and the Americans ended up getting the all-important win. But it wasn’t easy as Swayman allowed three goals on 21 shots and USA was down by a 2-1 score at the end of the opening period before opening up their awesome arsenal of explosive offense on the unwitting Danish.
NHL Notes: Did the B's dodge bullet missing out on Rasmus Andersson?
It really feels like perhaps the Boston Bruins dodged a bit of a bullet in the Rasmus Andersson trade situation, doesn’t it? The B’s finished very publicly as the runner up in trade talks for the Calgary Flames defensemen as he ultimately went to his preferred destination with the Vegas Golden Knights after his agent declined contract extension overtures from the Black and Gold. This all was happening amidst a trade offer from Don Sweeney that reportedly included Mason Lohrei, Matt Poitras and a first round pick going to Calgary in exchange for a top-4 defender that would have given Boston a formidable top four of Charlie McAvoy, Hampus Lindholm, Nikita Zadorov and Andersson.
Haggerty: Zacha can't hide his Olympic disappointment; US and Canada survive to stay on collision course
The disappointment in Pavel Zacha’s eyes was unmistakable as he spoke after Wednesday morning’s Bruins practice about being forced to pull out of the 2026 Winter Olympics due to an injury. Zacha had the hotels booked and the travel plans for his family locked in for them to watch the center skate for Team Czechia, but an injury in the final few games ahead of the Olympic break put things into question. The 28-year-old actually didn’t think the injury was a big deal and thought he’d still be able to go to Milan Cortina with teammate David Pastrnak to compete for Team Czechia, but things plateaued in his recovery after a few days and the injury timeline became an enemy rather than a friend.
Haggerty: We get the US/Canada matchup we've been waiting for
The United States and Canada did their parts and now hockey fans everywhere get their dream matchup for the Gold Medal with Team USA and Team Canada set to tangle on Sunday morning as the final big event at the 2026 Winter Games in Milan Cortina. For Bruins fans, they get to watch Charlie McAvoy and Jeremy Swayman (from the bench as the backup, anyway) line up against old friend Brad Marchand and a Canada crew that always seems to pull it out in the end against the Americans. They will have to do it this time without captain Sidney Crosby, though, as he has been ruled out for the rest of the tournament with a lower body injury suffered in the quarterfinals against Czechia.
NHL Notes: USA Hockey has now become the dominant force
What’s become very clear over the last two or three years – and really has been growing noticeably over the last decade or so – is that USA Hockey is no longer in the scrappy underdog role that they undeniably played back in 1980 for the Miracle on Ice. Instead, they have become one of the preeminent hockey powers in the world with even Canada being forced to bend the knee at multiple international hockey tournament stages over the last few seasons. They have captured IIHF World Junior championships in two of the last three years and they won the IIHF World Championships last spring for the first time in 92 years when Jeremy Swayman helped lead them to a gold medal. And now they have the crowning achievement after winning just their third Olympic gold medal in the history of their program, and the first since those scrappy, gutty college kids beat the Russians at Lake Placid nearly 50 years ago.
Haggerty: Swayman ready to ride Olympic momentum for B's
The jubilant smile was constant and beaming on Jeremy Swayman’s face as he waxed philosophic about being a gold medalist at the 2026 Winter Olympics in the friendly, comfortable environs of the Warrior Ice Arena dressing room after Wednesday’s return to his B’s group. It didn’t matter that Swayman had landed back in Boston in the wee hours of the morning and had little sleep before suiting up for Wednesday’s team practice ahead of Thursday night’s season-resuming game against the Columbus Blue Jackets at TD Garden. The game on Thursday night, by the way, is one that Swayman is looking to participate in after serving as the Team USA backup netminder for all but one game in the Olympic tournament while watching Connor Hellebuyck play the hero’s role for the Red, White and Blue.