The Boston Bruins need to keep riding the wave of the James Hagens experience, and the hope is that his bad game against the Ottawa Senators on Monday night won't change their view of throwing the rookie right into the fire. Every night won't be great, as discussed previously, and fans saw the downside of playing a 19-year-old in Monday's loss.
Drake Batherson's second period goal was the one you could most blame on Hagens. He attempted to carry the puck through the middle of the ice, made a terrible pass attempt that ended up on Tim Stutzle's stick, and then changed up instead of stopping on his turnover, creating a wide-open lane for the German star to hit Batherson up the middle for a breakaway pass.
Michael Amadio's goal to make it 4-0 also came from poor defensive zone positioning by the Bruins, with Hagens as the player closest to the eventual goal scorer. However, you can argue that Hampus Lindholm and Nikita Zadorov were just as out of position as the rookie, but it is easier to place the blame on him than on two veteran defensemen.
Hagens was also on the ice for Stutzle's second goal of the game, which occurred just after a Bruins' powerplay expired, but Lindholm's unnecessary forced pass to him caused the turnover and sent Ottawa the other way on a 2-on-1.
James Hagens accepted responsibility and didn't waver after mistakes
It was a rough night all around for the Bruins, and the last thing fans want to see is a silver lining out of the performance. However, Hagens showed something on Monday that proves he understands what it takes and can shake off the mistakes he will inevitably make as a rookie.
Hagens didn't hide away for the rest of the game after making those defensive mistakes. He kept trying to push the offense and had a much better third period once Marco Sturm shuffled the lines. He scored the team's only goal and left the game on a good note. Hagens was also well aware of his mistakes and accepted full responsibility post-game.
James Hagens scored Boston's lone goal tonight, but he was very hard on himself after that 4-1 loss.
— Conor Ryan (@ConorRyan_93) October 6, 2026
"Personally, I was a big reason for a couple of those goals going in. So I have to be a lot better. That was unacceptable on my end."
Another impressive thing late in the game was his willingness to get physical and mix things up when Nikita Zadorov tried to take his pound of flesh from the Senators. He also didn't back down when Travis Green sent his enforcer to intimidate the rookie for the game's last faceoff with three seconds remaining.
There was hardly anything positive to take out of Monday’s game, and it could be a long season if the Bruins have too many of these nights. Still, Hagens did show the fans something, whether they want to believe it or not.
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