From Day 1 after the Boston Bruins hired Marco Sturm as head coach, the message was clear: they are going to be hard to play against. It's the system that will make them difficult to play, but that hasn't always been the case in 2025-26. There were times they were too easy to play against.
That's what happens when you endure two long losing streaks in a season, and it puts you behind the eight-ball in terms of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Boston is currently holding down the first Eastern Conference wild-card spot in the standings, but it changes by the day. If they are going to hang around in the hunt for a postseason berth, they will need to have more efforts like they had on Tuesday night at the TD Garden against the Detroit Red Wings.
Boston played Sturm's system to perfection in a 3-0 victory. They took advantage of the Red Wings playing the night before at home and beating the Carolina Hurricanes in overtime, 4-3. While that was going on, the Bruins were off after sweeping the weekend with wins over the New York Rangers and Pittsburgh Penguins. It was a performance that would be bad news to teams if it were going to be something the Black and Gold do on a nightly basis.
Bruins coach Marco Sturm said what no NHL teams want to hear after beating Red Wings
The Bruins outshot Detroit, 41-24, and aside from high-danger goal-scoring chances, they kept things routine for goalie Jeremy Swayman. It was the second straight shutout for the Bruins after beating the Penguins on Sunday night, 1-0. It's the first two shutouts of the season for Sturm's crew. After the game, he was pleased with his team's effort, but said what no team wanted to hear in terms of his team's effort.
“I think it was one of the most complete games we played all year long, five on five,” said Sturm. “Those are the games we have to take advantage of a little bit. We had a couple in the past here recently. I think (the) next game will be another one.
“So, I think guys were just ready to go today. I think right from the start. Started with David right away, with a good hit right away after two seconds. It felt like we were going to have a good energy, good juice tonight, and we kept it pretty consistent the whole game.”
The Seattle Kraken come to the TD Garden on Thursday night and will be on the backend of a back-to-back after playing the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday night. Last week, the Kraken beat the Bruins, 7-4, at home, and Boston wasn't happy with their performance that night. They owe them one. If they play as they did on Tuesday night, grinding out a win that makes it difficult for their opponent, then they will be tough to beat. If they can do that consistently the rest of the season, then just maybe they can steal a postseason berth.