Boston Bruins
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.
Completed Q&A: Haggerty on Olympics hockey, Bruins at the break 02.16.25
The United States is 2-0 heading into Sunday's pool play finale against Germany, with Bruins players having varying levels of success in the tournament.
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.
Haggerty: Bruins must make tough decision on Arvidsson
The Viktor Arvidsson situation is going to become a really interesting one for the Bruins ahead of the March 6 trade deadline around the NHL. The 32-year-old officially surpassed all of his season totals for last season by notching a pair of goals in Boston’s 4-2 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets at TD Garden on Thursday night in the first game back from the Winter Olympics break. Arvidsson now has 16 goals and 30 points on the season, looks like a lock to be a 20-goal scorer for this group and is on pace for 23 goals and 42 points that would be decent production for the second line winger. The first goal was Arvidsson simply throwing a puck on the net from long distance that caught a deflected Columbus stick on its way to the back of the net, and the second score was the empty netter that clinched the game for Boston in the final minutes.
NHL Notes: Road woes could be big playoff deal for Bruins
The Boston Bruins have a road problem that’s going to have to improve down the stretch if they hope to be a playoff team. The Black and Gold dropped their fifth road game in a row – if one counts the outdoor Stadium Series game in Tampa as a road tilt – with a 3-1 loss to the Flyers at the Wells Fargo Center on Saturday afternoon, and some of the happenings in defeat had the familiar ring of other losses on the road this season. The loss dropped the B’s to 11-13-4 on the road this season, a mark that will need to improved as the Bruins play a slew of road games at the very end of the season when a wild card spot is likely to be clinched.
BSJ Live Q&A: Haggerty on B's ahead of trade deadline, Bruins at the deadline -- 11 a.m. Wednesday 03.04.26
Haggs has you covered with any burning questions as the Bruins approach Friday's NHL trade deadline with "a cautious approach" for a hockey club currently pointed toward the postseason.
Haggerty: Bruins appopriately cautuous at the trade deadline
As the big names come off the board ahead of Friday afternoon’s NHL trade deadline, it shouldn’t be any surprise that the Bruins have not made a momentous splash despite a hockey team that’s currently in a playoff spot in the East. Don Sweeney cautioned everybody at the beginning of the week that the Bruins would be looking to give this scrappy wild card team “a bump” in terms of adding a sprinkle of talent, but it wasn’t going to happen at the cost of the organization’s long-term vision. Sweeney conducted a fire sale at last season’s trade deadline where Charlie Coyle, Brad Marchand, Brandon Carlo, Trent Frederic, Justin Brazeau and others were sent away for a raft of prospects and draft picks, and that house cleaning was executed at an extraordinarily high level leading into this season’s pleasant surprise.
Haggerty: Bruins showing they've got right playoff stuff
It really shouldn’t come as a major surprise at this point, but the Boston Bruins continue to clearly demonstrate they have “the stuff” to be a playoff team this spring. It remains to be seen how it’s going to play out for them and Tuesday night’s home loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs was as unimpressive as it gets for the Black and Gold, but it was more than offset by the B’s shaking off some third period troubles to knock off the Sabres in overtime in a 4-3 comeback road victory at the KeyBank Center on Wednesday night. The win allowed the B’s to open up a three-point cushion on the top wild card playoff spot and pulled them into a tie with the Montreal Canadiens for the third playoff spot in the Atlantic Division, though the Habs hold two games in hand on the Black and Gold entering Thursday.
Haggerty: Bruins make the right call passing at deadline
The Bruins promised to be uncharacteristically cautious headed into the NHL trade deadline, and they lived up to that with an eerily quiet Friday as most of the rest of the league was conducting a flurry of business. The B’s were obviously heavy into the trade talks for defenseman Rasmus Andersson prior to the Olympic break only to watch the Vegas Golden Knights complete the deal, but that willingness to wheel and deal changed coming out of the Olympic break. Some if it was perhaps the way the Bruins have not been able to generate the same high level of play that they did prior to the Olympics, but another major aspect of the inactive trade deadline was the seller’s market where prices were exceedingly high to make a trade.
NHL Notes: Bruins players appreciate 'trust' in current group
The Bruins players went out and played arguably their best game since the Olympic break after the NHL trade deadline had come and done, and perhaps that wasn’t a coincidence for the Black and Gold. There was no big additions to a group that’s already played their way into a wild card playoff spot this season, but there were also no subtractions to a group of players that have shown character, resilience and toughness that wasn’t there a year ago. It didn't mean that the Bruins didn't try to make moves, of course, as they finished as the runner-ups for the services of Rasmus Andersson prior to the Olympic break, and they were definitely in the running for forward Connor Garland before he ended up getting moved to a Columbus Blue Jackets team chasing them in the standings.
BSJ Live Q&A: Haggerty on Bruins stretch run, playoff hopes -- 11 a.m. Thursday 03.12.26
With the Bruins entering a stretch of home games after a tough back-to-back last weekend against the Capitals and Penguins, Haggs is here for all of your B's and NHL-related questions. So get them ready!
Haggerty: McAvoy stepping up as tough leader Bruins need
This season has not been fun for Charlie McAvoy in a lot of respects, and it has undoubtedly come at a personal cost given the hits he has taken to his mouth and chin. But those moments of discomfort and painful adversity have also come amidst some tremendous high points in perhaps the biggest season of personal growth in McAvoy’s NHL career. There was another high point, and low moment, for McAvoy on Tuesday night as he scored the overtime game-winner in a 2-1 victory over the Los Angeles Kings at TD Garden and lost more teeth after taking another puck to the mouth.
