At the risk of stating the painfully obvious here, the Bruins are going to need more than goaltending down the stretch if they’re going to even make the playoffs this spring. Now, as I write this, pretty much every model has the Bruins entering the penultimate week of the regular season as a playoff lock. Whether that’s 95 percent or 98 or 99 percent, most people think they’re in.
If we want to get technically with it, their magic number entering Monday sits at four points. But, again, if they’re going to lean on their goaltending duo of Jeremy Swayman and Joonas Korpisalo this hard to seal the deal, things could get much more uncomfortable between now and Game 82.
Take a look at Saturday’s loss in Tampa Bay.
Did Swayman play as well as you would’ve hoped, especially on what ended up being the game-winning goal scored by the Lightning’s Darren Raddysh? Nope, no sir. But how can we possibly get on the goaltending when the Bruins finish the night with just one goal. Oh, and just three shots in the third period. That’s not going to beat the Lightning. Not in Boston, but especially not in Tampa’s barn and with the benefit of last change.
I would also argue that Swayman gave you more than enough before that Raddysh goal, much like he did outside of a bad three and a half minutes in the first period of Thursday’s 2-1 loss to the Panthers in Sunrise.
And on Sunday, Korpisalo (29 saves on 31 shots in the loss) gave you everything you could reasonably ask out of him. Especially with that sprawling save with just over three minutes left in regulation of a tied game. Hell, he may have even gotten you the extra point had it not been for back-to-back penalties that gave the Flyers a 5-on-3 in the fourth period.
In other words, it feels like goaltending is the only thing giving you something close to a consistent effort these days. So it’s really hard to get on them for their hiccups when they inevitably happen.
Through the first three games of this road trip, the Bruins have yet to score more than one goal in a game. And while the goals have been dwindling, it feels like even their chances are dwindling these days. Speaking after Sunday’s loss in Philly, Bruins superstar David Pastrnak wondered if the team is pressing on their chances because of the lack of production.
Here are some other quick-hitter thoughts from a weekend back-to-back…
Pressure mounts on slumping Geekie
It’s now been a full month since the Bruins’ Morgan Geekie found the back of the net. A month! This time of year, that’s not going to play, and everybody involved knows it. Speaking after Sunday’s game, it felt clear that Bruins head coach Marco Sturm didn’t want to dig Geekie’s grave much deeper, instead noting the time of year and saying that they gotta get ‘em going.
This is where it gets really hard for the Bruins. And for Geekie.
Geekie is a notoriously superstitious player, and by now, I imagine he’s tried anything and everything to pull himself out of this slump. And Geekie knows that all it takes is one to get going. I still find that to be true, even with Geekie on a month-long cold streak.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: I really only worry about Geekie when he stops shooting the puck. Geekie’s effort in Sunrise this past Thursday (10 shot attempts, his most since December) made you think he was on the cusp of breaking out. But the weekend was rough, and you saw an uptick in the turnovers and giveaways.
So, what now? I do think the Bruins want to avoid the nuclear option of sitting Geekie down for a game. And I don’t think this team can afford to sit him, really. But if Geekie has another rough showing — he’s going to be a great rebound spot Tuesday against the Hurricanes (his former team) — the topic does get a bit louder, one would think.
Is Pastrnak running out of gas?
When Pastrnak put forth one of the worst overtime efforts you’ll ever see him skate on Sunday, I couldn’t help but wonder if No. 88 is finally running out of gas. I mean, you could argue that he just looks tired these days.
I truthfully don’t know what the tank is on, but I do know this: After Sunday’s effort, Pastrnak is at 67:34 of total time on ice since Thursday against the Panthers. That’s the third-most among NHL forwards over that span, trailing only Nico Hischier (68:39) and Jack Hughes (70:32).
Here’s the problem: The Bruins are putting players like Geekie and Elias Lindholm with Pastrnak to get their games going, when if anything, Pastrnak might need someone to take some of the pressure off himself right now.
Boston’s second line remains driving force
One thing you can’t complain about right now is the Bruins’ second line with Pavel Zacha in between Viktor Arvidsson and Casey Mittelstadt. This line has come through time and time again, almost to the point where you’re expecting them to tie the game or win the game in crunch time.
That said, I still have no idea what you do with these guys this offseason.
With Zacha, who has one more year left on his contract, I do think it’s in the Bruins’ best interest to hammer out an extension as soon as possible. Do you love the idea of paying top dollar for a guy who’ll be in his mid-30s for the second half of the contract? Not necessarily, no. But the Bruins clearly struck gold with the Haula-for-Zacha swap back in 2022, and it’s hard to envision the Bruins finding a legitimate upgrade to what Zacha brings.
Arvidsson, meanwhile, is due for a raise and maybe even a long-term commitment. Between his year and the lack of impact talent on the market, this might be the best and last time for Arvidsson to cash in on his talents. That’s a dangerous window for the Bruins at the negotiating table, really. I’d love Arvidsson back, but at no more than a two-year deal. Ask yourself, are you gonna get better play out of him than you did this season? If Arvidsson wants to play ball on a short-term deal, then I’m all ears and ready to see how high it can go and be fair for both parties.
Flyers’ usage of Martone should leave Boston feeling jealous
So it turns out that you are allowed to bring the 19-year-old kid up and plug him right into an NHL lineup while also trying to make the playoffs.
Huh. Pretty crazy.
I’m not talking about James Hagens, sadly. But rather the Flyers’ Porter Martone. Playing in what was the fourth NHL game of his career, and without any sort of AHL seasoning, the No. 6 overall pick from the 2025 NHL Draft (one pick before the B’s selected Hagens) came through with an assist and a goal in the win. That goal was the game-winning goal in overtime, of course, and was also the first of his career.
At this point, watching this offense get stuck in the mud every night and have a revolving cast of characters on their third line every night while Hagens remains in Providence is just maddening.
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