The Boston Bruins and their fans were feeling quite good after David Pastrnak's overtime winner in Game 5 against the Buffalo Sabres. It seemed like their struggles were behind them, but a looming pressure situation of performing in front of their home fans and then a Game 7 in a hostile KeyBank Center shows that this series was nowhere near in the Bruins' favor.
The Bruins went right back to the same issues from the first four games in front of their home crowd. The forwards didn't have enough offensive depth, which everyone knew was an issue, but the defense again showed that they are a bit too slow and a bit too offensively challenged to have a real impact on a playoff atmosphere.
Boston lacks a true puck-moving defenseman who can execute a one-man breakout and get the team out of trouble when needed. Mason Lohrei might be the closest they have to it, and he had lost his place in the lineup by the end of the series. Charlie McAvoy attempts to be that person for the Bruins, but he's better off not trying to do too much to better fit his strengths.
The Bruins could also use a new look at running the first powerplay unit. Any pick in this year's draft won't be ready to do that just yet, unless there's another Matthew Schaefer in this year's class, but it'd be nice to have one of those offensive defensemen to look forward to. The Bruins won't get that kind of game-breaker with their first-round pick, but they could really use the Toronto Maple Leafs to fall to the sixth pick at Tuesday night's draft lottery to have a chance at one.
#NHLBruins fans have to be praying that Leafs pick moves down. Could use a bit of this on the backend. @Causeway_Crowd https://t.co/6LbnI7EQMY
— Nate Duffett (@NateDuffett) April 27, 2026
Carson Carels is a name that scouts are saying could go as high as three or as low as eight. In a league that is trending towards offensive defensemen running the game (see Schaefer or the Colorado Avalanche-Minnesota Wild Game 1 with Cale Makar and Quinn Hughes), the Bruins don't have that kind of blueliner that could take over a game. Watch one shift from Carels above and your instant reaction would be that the Bruins could've sure used that against the Sabres.
If the Bruins are lucky enough to get the sixth pick and Carels goes ahead of them, they could also look at Chase Reid and Daxon Rudolph as potential options. With the work Sweeney did to replenish the prospect depth up front over the last two years, it has to be time to land a big defense prospect. They just need the lottery balls to fall their way on Tuesday night.
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