To say the Boston Bruins are surprising a lot of people with the way they are playing would be an understatement. After beating the St. Louis Blues, 5-2, on the road Tuesday night, Boston is 18-13-0 and tied with the Tampa Bay Lightning at the top of the Atlantic Division standings.
Given how many injuries Marco Sturm has had to deal with through the first 31 games of the season and still without defenseman Charlie McAvoy, it's surprising to see where the Black and Gold are.
Why are the Bruins where they are in the standings? They have finally settled into Sturm's system, and they are getting some major depth production from their forwards. Let's not overlook the. bounce-back season that Jeremy Swayman is having between the pipes to date. Joonas Korpisalo hasn't been too bad either. Mark Kastelic didn't beat around the bush as to why Boston is having the season it is having to date.
Bruins forward Mark Kastelic explains how the team is having success in 2025-26
After the second win over St. Louis in five days, Kastelic didn't beat around the bush as to why Boston is having some success right now. Along with Fraser Minten, Kastelic had two of the Black and Gold's five goals in the win.
“It is definitely just really fun playing hockey right now,” Kastelic said. “It doesn’t really matter who I am playing with or where in the lineup you are. Everybody is valued here, so that’s the biggest thing. Just having a blast right now.”
If Kastelic is having fun playing hockey right now for the Bruins, imagine how much fun Bruins fans are having watching this team play on a nightly basis. It feels like they are having different players step up on a nightly basis to contribute and play a big role that not many people saw coming.
If the Bruins are going to come close to making the Stanley Cup Playoffs in the spring, they will need to continue to play the way they are and have success. It's going to be pretty much, if at all, but it is how they have to play. Stick to their structure, get depth scoring, and limit mistakes. That right now is fun and winning hockey for the 2025-26 Boston Bruins.