Losers of five straight games, things are getting desperate for the Boston Bruins and coach Marco Sturm. Mired in a losing streak that was extended on Saturday night with a 4-1 loss to the red-hot Buffalo Sabres in New York. It was Buffalo's eighth straight win and another Boston loss.
As if things couldn't get any worse, the Bruins are boarding a plane on Sunday to head to Calgary to play the Flames on Monday night in the second game of a what is a pivotal road trip for the Black and Gold. They are quickly fading in the Atlantic Division standings and the Eastern Conference playoff race. They could be buried in last place when they return to Boston early next month.
There have been a number of reasons for the Bruins' downfall in the last five games, and near the top of the list is scoring goals. They just haven't been able to put the puck in the net much, and it's costing them. They have scored just 10 goals during their losing streak. That's not going to get it done. On Sunday morning in Buffalo, head coach Marco Sturm held a practice before flying to Calgary, and he made some interesting line combinations.
Bruins coach Marco Sturm shakes up lines on Sunday
It was an early-morning practice at the KeyBank Center, and according to team reporter Belle Fraser, there was some serious mixing up of the lines. It appears that the first-year coach is going back to what worked earlier this month during a three-game road trip that saw wins over the St. Louis Blues and Winnipeg Jets.
Bruins practice lines:
— Belle Fraser (@bellefraser1) December 28, 2025
Steeves-E. Lindholm-Geekie
Mittelstadt-Zacha-Arvidsson
Khusnutdinov-Minten-Pastrnak
Eyssimont-Kuraly-Kastelic
Viel
Zadorov-McAvoy
H. Lindholm-Peeke
Kolyachonok-Lohrei
Aspirot-Jokiharju
Swayman/Korpisalo
The biggest noticeable change is moving David Pastrnak to the third line with Fraser Minten and Marat Khusnutdinov. They jelled in a win over the Blues with Pastrnak having three assists, and Minten scored two goals in the 5-2 victory. Sturm broke the line up later on the trip after they had some quick success. It'll be interesting to see if these end up being the lines against the Flames and how things go.
The other big move was Alex Steeves being bumped up to the first line with Elias Lindholm and Morgan Geekie. Desperate times call for desperate measures, right now for Marco Sturm and the Boston Bruins.