The United States and Canada will play for the Gold Medal at the 2026 Olympics on Sunday morning. After that game, Boston Bruisn defenseman Charlie McAvoy and goalie Jermey Swayman are expected back as soon as possible at Warrior Ice Arena. On Saturday, defenseman Henri Jokiharju and goalie Joonas Korpisalo won the Bronze Medal with Finland.
What makes this Olympic break unique is that the Bruins lost both goalies, Swayman and Korpisalo, to the Olympics, and now they have to rush back and get ready to resume the season on Thursday night against the Columbus Blue Jackets. After both rarely saw the ice, getting shots at them is going to be vital.
“Somehow, we have to make sure they’re going to get some reps in as much as we can, as early as we can. Because we need them. We need one of them, at least,” said head coach Marco Sturm. “But again, I want to wait and see what happens and figure it out. See how everyone feels.”
However, a major snowstorm, or as the meteorologists are calling it, a crippling blizzard, is expected to shut down the Northeast Sunday night and throughout the day on Monday. There is a good chance that things could shut down well into Tuesday. That's not good for players coming back from the Olympics. As it turns out, the weather could be throwing a wrench into Boston's practice plans.
Pavel Zacha back with linemates
Pavel Zacha, who admitted that he suffered a concussion last month against the Philadelphia Flyers, was back at practice with a red non-contact jersey. Getting him back is key, and Sturm expects him to play against the Blue Jackets with Casey Mittlestadt and Viktor Arvidsson.
“Very important,” Sturm said. “How they’ve been our shutdown line but also produce offensively. You can see it without (Zacha) in the lineup; we missed a little bit of faceoffs, power play. There are a lot of different areas where we kind of missed him. That’s why it’s so nice to have him out there fresh and healthy.”
Trade deadline 12 days away
The trade deadline is 12 days away, and there could be some changes coming. How much longer is Arvidsson going to wear the Black and Gold? With the Olympics coming to an end and the roster freeze about to be lifted, the rumors are about to begin swirling more than ever, leading into the 3 p.m. deadline on March 6.