After a disappointing 4-2 loss at home to the San Jose Sharks on Thursday night, the Boston Bruins will hit the road for a key three-game road trip. Despite losing, the Bruins got help, somewhat, from other teams in the league Thursday night.
Boston remained in sole possession of the final Eastern Conference wild card spot after the Florida Panthers picked up a 2-1 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets in overtime. At the same time, the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Detroit Red Wings in regulation to keep them just one point ahead of the Black and Gold for the first wild card spot—a huge missed opportunity for the Bruins.
Now, after a practice on Friday at Warrior Ice Arena, Boston will hit the road for three games beginning on Saturday afternoon against the Washington Capitals. They will then visit the New Jersey Devils on Monday and the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday. A brutal back-to-back. However, head coach Marco Sturm doesn't want to talk about his team's road struggles.
Bruins coach Marco Sturm avoids addressing his team's road issues
Let's just get to the point. If Boston is going to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs, then winning away from the TD Garden is a must. They have lost seven in a row on the road, including a game where they blew a 5-1 lead against the Lightning and a 3-0 lead to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Sure, they picked up a point in what was a shootout and overtime losses, but those second points are going to haunt them come mid-April.
“I don’t wanna talk about struggling on the road,'' said Sturm. "We just have to be focused and stay focused on our game, and kind of go from there. I think we played well enough on the road…”
Sure, let's just avoid the biggest flaw with the 2025-26 Boston Bruins. Let's not talk about the struggles on the road. Boston's last road win? Jan. 17 over the Chicago Blackhawks. That's almost two months ago (yes, there was an Olympic break for three weeks).
As much as Sturm doesn't want to address it, we'll address it. If the Bruins don't win on the road the rest of the season, they will miss the playoffs for a second straight year. It's not really something that Sturm needs to beat around the bush about, is it?