The Bruins closed out their preseason on Friday night in a 3-2 overtime loss against the Washington Capitals. It ended in a familiar scene, where Hampus Lindholm was sent to the penalty box after Justin Sourdif blew by him, so Lindholm wrapped him up and received a holding penalty. The Capitals scored the game-winning powerplay goal just 11 seconds into overtime.
The preseason wasn’t all bad though. David Pastrnak and JJ Peterka are further developing chemistry, Morgan Geekie seems comfortable in his new role on the powerplay, while both Jeremy Swayman and Michael DiPietro look solid. With the Bruins regular season opening Tuesday night, it’s time to predict what else will go right, wrong, or if there will be any surprises in 2026-27.
JJ Peterka will have a career year
New addition JJ Peterka, is set to play on the Bruins’ first line with Pastrnak. Peterka is a highly skilled and creative forward, he and Pastrnak have already seemed to click. Peterka is also going to be a part of the top power play unit to begin the season. He will be playing with Pavel Zacha, Morgan Geekie, and Pasta, most of the Bruins’ best offensive talent.
Being surrounded by all that firepower will be beneficial for Peterka. His highest scoring season came in 2024-25 with the Buffalo Sabres when he scored 68 points. Though after a down year in ’25-26 with Utah in a crowded forward group where he only scored 47 points, he looks to replicate his past performance with the Sabres.
If JJ can stay healthy, build on his newfound partnership with Pastrnak, and cement his spot on the first power play unit, he will surpass his 68 point season in Buffalo. Peterka will reach 70 points for the first time in his career.
The Bruins will make the playoffs, but how far?
Last season the Bruins finished with 100 points and were able to sneak into the playoffs in a highly competitive Eastern Conference. They were eliminated in six games by the Buffalo Sabres in the first round, a somewhat foreseeable outcome, but disheartening nonetheless. The Bruins were not able to keep up with the Sabres speed and skill, and once Buffalo replaced Ukko-Pekka Luukonen in net with Alex Lyon, it was just about the final nail in the coffin.
This offseason, Eastern Conference teams who didn’t reach the playoffs have made significant moves to improve their chances this year. While the Bruins are also in this category with their additions of JJ Peterka and William Borgen, it will be even tougher to qualify for the playoffs this time around. That being said, injuries always happen and it is a long season.
If the B’s are able to accrue valuable points early in the season and stay healthy, they will be able to make the playoffs again. The problem is the last 10 games of their schedule. It will be an uphill battle, with three games against the Sabres, two games against the Tampa Bay Lightning, and then matches against the Ottawa Senators, Washington Capitals, Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Florida Panthers. However, the Bruins proved to be pretty good regular season team in 2025-26, and with not much change in system, and a superior roster, it can be achieved.
The Boston Bruins will make the playoffs, but will be worn out from the final stretch of the regular season. Also this team is not built for a long run in the playoffs, they have no real postseason weapons and the poor showing against the Sabres in 2026 exposed that they still will not be capable of making it past the first round.
Jeremy Swayman will win the Vezina Trophy
As Jeremy Swayman goes, the Bruins go. He is Boston’s most valuable player. In 2024-25 Swayman had a 22-29-7 record with an .892 SV% and a 3.11 GAA while the Bruins finished last in the Atlantic division. After a confidence boosting summer winning gold with Team USA in the IIHF Men’s World Championship, he revamped his game, leading to a massively successful 2025-26 NHL season. He posted a 31-18-4 record with a .907 SV% and a 2.71 GAA.
Swayman also received worthy recognition for his fantastic year, by finishing third in Vezina Trophy voting. He fell just behind winner Andrei Vasilevskiy and runner-up Ilya Sorokin. Last season, the league was awakened to how important and impactful Swayman is in net. He is in the prime of his career. Bruins GM Don Sweeney added some help in front of the net this offseason by trading for William Borgen, a hole on the right side that desperately needed to be filled. If Swayman can get steady help from his defense and expand upon his performance last season, he will win the Vezina Trophy in 2026-27.
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