One night after another embarrassing loss to begin the 2025-26 season, the Boston Bruins were facing a gut-check home game against the New York Islanders. General manager Don Sweeney spoke on the NESN broadcast before his team rallied from a 2-0 first-period deficit for a 5-2 victory and called out his team for their 4-7-0 start and allowing seven goals for the second time in three games in a 7-2 loss to the Ottawa Senators.
"The players themselves have to take some ownership of what's being asked from them,'' said Sweeney. "On an individual, collective level and we have to stop the bleeding in our own end.''
Instead of taking some ownership for the lack of big offseason moves and the roster construction, Sweeney threw it back on the players. For once, fans would love to hear the front office say they made some mistakes or what the actual plan is without sugarcoating things.
Hampus Lindholm's surprise return & Mason Lohrei's scratch
The Boston Bruins got a surprise addition to the lineup against the Islanders with Hampus Lindholm coming off injured reserve to play. It was a big addition as his presence on the back end has been sorely missed since he suffered a lower-body injury earlier this month against the Chicago Blackhawks.
With Lindholm returning, Michael Callahan was returned to the Providence Bruins in the American Hockey League (AHL). Also joining the lineup for his NHL debut was Jonathan Aspirot on the backend, which allowed head coach Marco Sturm to scratch youngster Mason Lohrei.
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) October 28, 2025
“The biggest thing for him … and I did it with Casey (Mittelstadt), too. I think once in a while, it’s good to scratch a player like that,” Sturm said. “We expect more from him, and sometimes we have to press that reset button.
“And it’s not like we want to bury him. No, I want to help him, and that’s part of the process. Again, you get some good things, but too many mistakes lately, and that’s why we give Aspirot the chance today.”
With Lohrei out and Lindholm in, Nikita Zadorov was paired with Charlie McAvoy against the Islanders. Lindholm was paired with Andrew Peeke, and Aspirot was paired with Henri Jokiharju.
Baby Bruins have early-season showdown
As the end of October comes to a close, the Providence Bruins have an early-season Atlantic Division showdown on Wednesday night. The 6-0-0 P-Bruins will visit the 7-0-0 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
Providence's roster got a boost on Tuesday with Callahan's return from Boston, and they'll need him against former Bruins forward Danton Heinen, who leads the AHL with four goals and eight assists.