The Boston Bruins are coming off of arguably their best month of hockey in two seasons. They had an 11 – 2 – 1 record and have put some space between themselves and the Columbus Blue Jackets and Washington Capitals for the second wild card playoff spot. This streak comes after a six-game losing streak in December that dropped them to the bottom of the Atlantic Division going into the new year.
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The Bruins were firing on all cylinders throughout January. They got fantastic performances from individual players, line combinations with great chemistry, improvements on the defensive play, and solid goaltending from both Jeremy Swayman and Joonas Korpisalo. There are three things in particular that are worth calling out though from the month of January.
Forward Group Getting it Done
A number of Bruins’ forwards had fantastic performances in the month of January with David Pastrnak, who was named the second star of the month, leading the way. He had 25 points in the month, registering a point in 12 of 14 games. 18 of the 25 points came at even strength and his 20 assists were second in the league for the month. On Jan. 26, he hit his 900th career point in their overtime loss to the New York Rangers and is now sixth on the Bruins’ all time points list. Barring any injuries or major slowdowns, he should hit the 1000 point milestone next season.
But Pastrnak wasn’t the only one putting in the work last month. Fraser Minten, who has been having a solid first full NHL season, stepped it up, earning the NHL’s Rookie of the Month honor. He led all rookies with eight goals and had 14 total points, tying for the highest total in a month by a rookie this season. January was a turning point for him, prior to the start of the month he had six goals and nine assists for 15 points. He almost doubled that with 14 points in 14 games.
Marat Khusnutdinov also deserves appreciation for his performance this month. While he initially started out on the fourth-line and was a healthy scratch in five of the Bruins’ first 13 games, injuries gave him opportunities to prove himself and he has fully taken advantage of that. In January, he had seven goals and four assists for 11 points in 14 games, and has been spending time on the top line with Morgan Geekie and Pastrnak. In one month, he matched the 11 points he had in 73 games with the Minnesota Wild.
While Pastrnak, Minten, and Khusnutdinov may be the headlines from the month, it really was a great showing as a collective for the Bruins’ forward. Geekie had five goals and nine points in 13 games, leaving a game early and missing one for the birth of his son. He also hit 100 career goals and surpassed the 30-goal mark for the second season in a row. Casey Mittelstadt had 11 points, Tanner Jeannot had two goals to break an 11-game goal drought, and Viktor Arvidsson had six goals and 10 points, going on a seven-game point streak.
Prior to their injuries, Elias Lindholm and Pavel Zacha were also playing very well. Lindholm had five goals and 12 points in 13 games while Zacha also had five goals and 11 points in 14 games. With both players set to appear in the Olympics, there is currently no word on whether or not either will still be playing with Lindholm recently being placed on injured reserve.
The Bruins’ lack of depth on offense has been a talking point for many, many seasons now, but things seem to be turning around for them. It has been a streaky season, but even in their losses, they’ve managed to get points on the board. Hopefully the team is able to continue to get help on offense from up and down the lineup as the season continues after the Olympic pause.
Solid Goaltending
Both goaltenders hit rough patches in December. The defense was doing them no favors, but both Swayman and Korpisalo put together less than stellar performances in net. Korpisalo, in particular, did not look great, generating some questions about whether or not it was time to move on from him and bring up one of the guys from the Providence Bruins to be back up. But they both turned it around in January, putting together solid performances.
Swayman hit 22 wins on the season in January, matching his total from last season, and solidifying the bounce back he’s had in 2025-26. He currently has a goals against average (GAA) of 2.87 and save percentage of .904. Last month saw him have a 24-save shutout, his first of the season, against the Detroit Red Wings, a big win against a divisional rival. He also had 36 saves in the team’s win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Jan. 29.
Korpisalo also had a 27-save shutout against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Jan. 11 and a 28-save game against the Calgary Flames on Jan. 8 in a 4 – 1 victory. It was the first win he had since Dec. 11. In his last nine games, he has a 2.12 GAA and a .919% save percentage. More importantly, he’s showing that he can be trusted to be a reliable backup, taking some of the pressure off of Swayman and allowing for him to take on a bit more of the workload.
Power Play Clicking
Special teams has been an area of concern for the Bruins. The power play has struggled for several seasons now, ranking 29th overall in 2024-25, and after multiple seasons of having one of the best penalty kills in the league, they dropped to 24th overall last season.
Things have fully swapped for the Bruins, and that was on display in January. The penalty kill has been a weak point for the team all season, with it currently ranked 26th in the league, and being one of the few blemishes on the team’s performance last month. This has been especially concerning considering the roster’s struggles with taking bad and undisciplined penalties throughout the season, putting them a man down more than any other team in the NHL.
But the power play has been a real bright spot, and a great turnaround from the past several seasons. They’re currently ranked third overall in the league, moving up the ranks in January and now trailing only the Edmonton Oilers and the Dallas Stars. The power play was particularly strong last month, connecting on more than 30% of their man advantages, and resulting in 14 power play goals.
A large part of this turnaround is due to Steve Spott, who was brought in as an assistant coach this summer specifically to help with special teams. With his help, Charlie McAvoy and Pastrnak, in particular, have taken great leaps forward. The importance of the power play cannot be emphasized enough when talking about the team’s ability to bounce back in 2025-26 from last season.
Olympic Break
The Bruins have one more game against the Florida Panthers before going into a three week break for the 2026 Winter Olympics. They will resume play on Feb. 26 against the Blue Jackets.
Related: Bruins’ Stellar January Driven by Pastrnak’s Career-Best Performance
Until then, eight Bruins players will be representing their countries at the Olympics. Swayman and McAvoy will be on team USA, Pastrnak and Zacha for Czechia, Henri Jokiharju for Finland, both Lindholms will play for Sweden, and prospect Dans Locmelis, who currently has 15 goals and 28 points in 41 games for Providence, will play for Latvia. Make sure to stay tuned with The Hockey Writers throughout the Olympics for news, analysis, and updates.
