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5 Bruins thoughts on a winless road trip, James Hagens, and playoff matchups
The Bruins could clinch a playoff berth as early as Thursday, but need help from a few teams.
The Boston Bruins closed out their four-game road trip on Tuesday — falling to the Hurricanes, 6-5, in overtime at the Lenovo Center.
Despite eeking out points in back-to-back games against the Flyers and the Hurricanes, the Bruins are still in a rut going into their final stretch of the regular season — going 0-2-2 in their last four games.
Boston will have some time to reset, with its next game set for Saturday afternoon against the Lightning at TD Garden.
As the Bruins try to lock up a playoff spot over the final week of the regular season, here are five thoughts on Boston’s lackluster road trip and what awaits Marco Sturm’s club moving forward.
Bruins remain in the driver’s seat for playoff berth
The Bruins have no wins to show for what was largely a frustrating road trip — including a regulation defeat from a cellar-dwelling Panthers club, offensive futility against both the Lightning and Flyers, and a sluggish first half against Carolina that resulted in Jeremy Swayman getting the hook with five goals allowed on 23 shots.
But Boston’s ability to grind out points against both Philly and Carolina — the latter off of a two-goal rally in the third period — did wonders for the Bruins’ playoff hopes.
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Even with a winless road trip, Boston’s playoff odds now sit at 99 percent with three games to go, per HockeyStats.
Boston could conceivably clinch a playoff berth before even taking to the ice on Saturday against Tampa — with regulation losses for the Blue Jackets (vs. Buffalo), Red Wings (vs. Flyers), and Islanders (vs. Toronto) on Thursday putting the Bruins clear of the field.
Even if a few of those teams stay afloat on Thursday, one win of any kind for the Bruins over their final three games against Tampa, Columbus, or New Jersey would punch Boston’s ticket to the playoffs.
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The Bruins haven’t been playing their best hockey over the past week, but it would take a catastrophic collapse to fall completely out of the playoff picture at this juncture of the season.
Korpisalo, Zacha come to the rescue
Of course, the primary reason why the Bruins were even able to scrounge together a pair of points against the Flyers and Hurricanes was rooted in the play of Joonas Korpisalo and Boston’s dominant second line.
Jeremy Swayman — who ranks second among all goalies with 26 goals saved above expected (per MoneyPuck) — has been the primary reason why this reworked roster is even in the playoff picture.
But Boston’s No. 1 netminder wasn’t all that sharp over his last few periods — coughing up a soft goal to Darren Raddysh for the eventual game-winning tally against Tampa on Saturday before getting put in a spin cycle by the Hurricanes on Tuesday.
We’re not sounding the alarms yet with Swayman, who will be the key cog behind any sort of extended playoff run for the Bruins this spring.
But Korpisalo was the main reason why Boston remained competitive in back-to-back tough road outings against playoff-caliber foes.
It’s been a season of highs and lows for Boston’s backup netminder.
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But the 31-year-old goalie is playing his best hockey as of late — stopping 29-of-31 shots against a red-hot Philly team on Sunday. He turned aside the first 16 shots he faced in relief of Swayman on Tuesday, keeping Boston off the ropes in regulation before Jaccob Slavin bested him in overtime.
While Korpisalo has elevated his game at a critical time, it’s been status quo for Zacha and Boston’s second line for weeks now. After scoring the Bruins’ lone goal in Philly, Zacha forced overtime on Tuesday — tallying his 30th goal of the year with 7:25 to go in regulation.
Since the NHL returned from the Olympic break, Zacha now has 15 goals in his last 22 games. The Bruins shouldn’t think twice about handing the 29-year-old Swiss Army Knife a new deal when he’s eligible for an extension on July 1. The price is only going to go up as the NHL cap ceiling continues to rise.
Geekie breaks though
If the Bruins are going to be a tough out in the postseason, they are going to need to get Morgan Geekie rolling again.
Tuesday night in Raleigh was a sizable step forward, with the shot-first winger snapping a 17-game goalless drought by tallying a hat trick against Carolina.
A trademark Geekie heater would be a welcome sight for Boston over the next few weeks.
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Getting Geekie’s blistering one-timer firing again on the power play is the next oder of business for Boston’s coaching staff. Boston went 0-for-2 on the power play Tuesday against Carolina — and is operating at 16.4 percent (27th overall) on the man advantage since the return from the Olympics.
The time is now for a Hagens call-up
We made the call for the Bruins to promote their best prospect, James Hagens, after Boston scored three total goals in its first three games of this road trip.
Yes, Boston did manage to put five pucks past Carolina goalie Brandon Bussi on Tuesday.
But it’s clear that the Bruins’ forward corps could still use a spark down the stretch, with Hagens’ skating ability and playmaking prowess offering a whole lot more than what Boston is currently trotting out at wing further down in the lineup.
Lukas Reichel has only recorded one point (an assist) in his last eight games — logging under a minute of ice time in the third period of last Thursday’s loss to the Panthers. He was scratched on Tuesday vs. the Hurricanes.
Mikey Eyssimont drew into the lineup on Saturday against the Lightning, landing three shots on goal over 12:00 of ice time.
And on Tuesday against the ‘Canes, it was Alex Steeves’ turn to slot into the lineup — skating on a reworked line with Fraser Minten and Marat Khusnutdinov.
That trio was outshot, 9-3, and outscored, 1-0, in 9:16 of 5-on-5 ice time. Steeves only logged two shifts in the third period, with Tanner Jeannot taking his spot in crunch time.
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There’s no guarantee that Hagens will be a game-changing addition at the NHL level…not this season. But the 19-year-old really isn’t a better option than what Sturm is currently rolling out?
If Steeves, Reichel, and Eyssimont are only getting 10-14 minutes of ice time per game anyway, why not give it to the player who figures to be part of Boston’s long-term plans well beyond those other forwards?
With two Bruins practices scheduled for this week, Hagens has an ideal runway to get acclimated to NHL action before Saturday’s matinee.
A preferred playoff matchup?
According to HockeyStats, the Hurricanes are currently the most-likely first-round opponent for the Bruins at 30 percent — with the Tampa Bay Lightning right behind them with 29 percent odds.
It’s to be expected for the Bruins to be tabbed as the underdog against whoever they draw in the first round.
But a meeting with Carolina could hold some appeal for Boston, due in large part to the Achilles’ heel on Rod Brind’Amour’s club.
As evidenced on Tuesday night, Carolina is a suffocating force when it’s dialed in. They suppress shots with ruthless efficiency in the D-zone and create havoc down the other end of the ice by way of a furious forecheck.
But unlike the Lightning — who boast both a dynamic offense and a feared equalizer between the pipes in Andrei Vasilevskiy — the Hurricanes are very vulnerable in net.
Former Bruins goalie Brandon Bussi was a feel-good success story for most of the 2025-26 season in his first real NHL opportunity with Carolina.
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But since Jan. 1, Bussi is sporting a save percentage of .875 across 22 games, giving up three or more goals in 12 of those appearances.
Bussi didn’t exactly impress on Tuesday against his former club, giving up five goals on just 21 shots. Frederik Andersen hasn’t fared much better for Carolina, sporting an .874 save percentage since Jan. 1.
Carolina’s puck pressure and forechecking will almost certainly give Boston fits across a best-of-seven playoff series. But who do you feel better about bouncing back from a lackluster performance on Tuesday: Swayman or Bussi?
I’ll stick with the netminder who posted a .933 save percentage during his last postseason run in 2024.
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