TOSS UP: Why the Boston Bruins Will / Won’t Make the Stanley Cup Playoffs

TOSS UP: Why the Boston Bruins Will / Won’t Make the Stanley Cup Playoffs

As a new brewing season begins, there’s reason to believe things will be different. There’s also reasons to believe it will be very much the same. How’s it going to be? Well, let’s toss it up and find out. You’re Locked on Bruins, your daily podcast on the Boston Bruins, part of the Locked On podcast network. Your team every day. What is up Bruins fans and welcome back to the Locked On Boston Bruins podcast. I’m your host Ian McLaren and this is a daily show where we discuss all things spoke to be. Today is Wednesday, October 8th. Happy opening day for the Boston Bruins. My name is Ian McLaren and this is a daily show where we discuss all things spoke to be. Please forgive me for my voice. It’s a mix of fall cold, allergies, MLB playoffs, uh, working against me today. But we are back discussing on one hand some reasons why the Boston Bruins will make the Stanley Cup playoffs, some reasons why the Bruins won’t make the Stanley Cup playoffs. We’ll preview tonight’s season opener against the Washington Capitals, and also talk about today’s Bruin of the Day. Thank you so much for making Lockdown Boston Bruins your first listen every day. We are part of the Lockdown podcast network your team every day. And today’s episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Download the FanDuel app now by visiting fanuel.com and win $300 in bonus bets if your first $5 bet wins. Before we get started, a quick reminder. You can find the podcast on social media, locked NHL Bruins, and you can find me, my hockey thoughts and dad jokes, Ian C McLaren. I’m a lifelong Boston Bruins fan, and I’ve been covering this team for various outlets and the NHL as a whole for going on 20 years now. A new season is upon us. The Boston Ruins begin the 202526 campaign tonight against the Washington Capitals and the Capitals are kind of the uh blueprint for a quick bounceback. Two years ago, they barely squeaked into the playoffs. They made some changes. They got some young guys into the lineup. And lo and behold, last year they’re one of the best teams in the regular season. Can the Bruins replicate that blueprint based on how they approach things in the offseason? There’s reason for hope for this team and it’s become kind of trendy to pick this team for a playoff spot. The reasons for that begin in net. Last year, Jeremy Swayman had without question the worst season of his career. And it began back in the summer. The vibes were off with his contract stalemate. He did not attend training camp, did not play any exhibition games, did not play in the season opener against the Florida Panthers, which ended up being a lopsided loss, and things just never got on track for him. For the Bruins to have any hope of making the playoffs, Jeremy Sway has to be a Vzna Trophy contender this season. Now, you often find that when a new coach comes in, Jack Adams voters love it when you are a team that was out of the playoffs and you move up. And especially that happens usually because your goalending is exceptional. So there’s a very real path for the Bruins this season where Jeremy Swayman is a top five top three goalie in the NHL and Marco Sturm is very much in Jack Adams coach of the year consideration as well. Now, in order for those two things to happen, a Swayman has to be at his best, but also the defense has to give him a a real push. And last season, we’ve talked about it so many times, Hamas Lindholm being injured early on in the season, Charlie Makavoy going down later in the season, not to mention a coaching change that kind of threw things off as well. The defensive structure just was not there. and guys were asked to play well above their station. Now, yes, uh Mason Borai is scheduled to begin the season playing on the top pairing with Charlie Makavoy, but you can bet in close games down uh the stretch or later in close games, you’ll have Lindholm, Hempus Lindholm playing with Charlie Makavoy or Nikita Zidorov out there with Charlie Makavoy to help lock things down. That’s like a a starting pair, not necessarily a finishing pair. If Lindholm and Makavoy come back healthy as they are and also help stabilize things defensively and improve the penalty kill because that’s where a lot of Swayman’s goals were given up last season, then this team has a real shot. I’ve said before their overunder is set at uh what 79.5. Last year they finished with 60 or sorry 76 points. I find it hard to believe that a healthy Lindome and Makavoy and a renewed Jeremy Swimman can’t at least make up four points. Can at least get them two more wings. For them to say get to 96 points, which would be playoff contention, they would need 10 more wins than they got last season. With Marco Sturm’s defensive structure, with their two best defenseman in the mix, with one of the best goalies in the NHL, when he’s at his best, it’s not impossible. And we saw encouraging signs in the preseason with the new look first line uh picking up where they left off. Morgan Geeki, yes, his shooting percentage should fall back down to earth a bit, but don’t forget he was scratched a lot early on last season and he didn’t get much power play time either. You put him on the power play and he gets increased shot volume, perhaps his shooting percentage drops, but his goal total remains around 30. If you can get what you hope for from Elias Lindholm, like uh 2040 or 2535, that’s a pretty pretty solid first line. The second line looks pretty good as well. Now, there’s questions as to whether Pavazaka, Casey Middlestat will remain with the Bruins uh past the trade deadline, but don’t forget last season they kind of went into sell mode because of Makavoy’s injury. They were fairly close to playoff contention around the trade deadline and they really dropped because of that what 10game losing streak after they had sold everybody off. If Makavoy had been healthy, if Brad Marshon had been healthy, maybe they don’t sell off like they did, or maybe just go with Coyle Carlo, keep Marshon and see what happens this season. If those top two lines can generate some offense and keep the opposition um suppressed as well. and the bottom two lines can grind guys down, kill off penalties. It’s possible that the Bruins could be at a wild card team this season. Now, that would require one of the playoff teams from last year dropping out. The Washington Capitals would help, but we know because of the 53 split at best, they would need to finish fifth in the Atlantic to be in the wild card hunt. And that would mean one of Ottawa, Montreal, Toronto, Florida, or Tampa dropping up. We’ll discuss that coming up. But when it comes to the Boston Bruins themselves, I believe they will be much better than they were last season just because of Lindholm Makavoy and Swayman. And also having Zidorov with Yoki Haru, uh Lindholm, Peak, Lurai Makavoy, like that top six is pretty solid to me. Swap in Jordan Harris. Defensively, this is a much better and tighter team than they were last season, and that has to account for something. Can they generate enough offense? Well, it looks like the top two lines could be up to the task. Uh they’ll have to get some offense from uh Fraser Minton, Tanner Jano, Mikey Esimont. Essimok could be good for 15 goals. Jano has a 20 goal season on his record. Who knows what Minton’s ceiling could be. Um, but you also have Morat Husnina of Shankari who could chip in goals on the fourth line as well. It is going to be an offense by committee. You’re not going to have any dominance apart from Posternok. Hopefully Morgan Geeki can, you know, level the gap between those top two players. But again, it comes down to Swayman Sterm’s structure and the defense improving that stability for this team to make the playoffs. So, there’s reason for hope here as we begin a new season. There’s also, however, reason to believe that it’s going to be the same thing as last season, and we’ll discuss that possibility here as the podcast continues. Let’s say you just realized that you need to hire someone like yesterday for your business. How can you find amazing candidates fast? It’s easy. Just use Indeed. When it comes to hiring, Indeed is all you need. Stop struggling to get your job post seen on other sites because Indeed’s sponsored jobs put your post at the top of the page and help you reach the right candidates faster. I’ve been in that spot where needed the right hire like yesterday the pressure was on. Every day without the right person is a setback. And that’s exactly when Indeed’s sponsored jobs come in handy. They make sure your post is seen by the right candidates right now. You can speed up your hiring process with a $75 sponsored job credit. Just go to indeed.com/lockedon right now and support our show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast. Terms and conditions apply, but if you’re hiring, Indeed is all you need. Now, everydayers of Lock Dog Boston Ruins will know that I’m typically a glass half full kind of guy. And I love the optimism that comes with opening night. I love looking at all the reasons why the Bruins could and should be better. But when you’re talking about making the playoffs, you have to look at what the field looked like just this past spring and which teams could fall out. I mentioned everything went right for the Washington Capitals last season and they are a team primed for some regression. There was so much hype about the Ovetkin chase. Uh, Pier Luke Dubois had such an amazing season. You had career years from like Alexi Proa, Dylan Stro, Tom Wilson was healthy, uh, Jacob Chin, John Carlson. But even if the Washington Capitals fall off, we’re not dealing with a one through eight seating system where the Bruins could sneak in because a Metro team falls down. At best, you have three metropolitan teams who have to make the playoffs because of the way the structure is. So, the Bruins would have to finish at least fifth in the Atlantic in order to make the playoffs. And here’s the kicker. The Detroit Red Wings and the Buffalo Sabres are both like desperate to get back to the playoffs. The Sabres have, I believe, the longest playoff drought in North American sports. The Detroit Red Wings have obviously had their glory days, but they’re long gone. And Steve Eerman desperate to prove that he can accomplish in Detroit what he did in Tampa Bay by building a powerhouse. Hasn’t quite happened yet, but they do have the pieces. And then of course you have the Montreal Canadiens who surprised many last season by making the playoffs. Can they maintain that pace? Well, they added Noah Dobson. They added Ivan Demidov. They still have some question marks on defense, but their offense is pretty deep. You have Patrick Line like starting on the third, fourth line. Demi Dov in there, Kirby Dock potentially back. Then you look at the Ottawa Senators who could be better than last year as well. They made some changes on defense. They um have upgraded up front by switching Josh Norris for Dylan Cousins and Brady Kachchuck is healthy and that could be a team on the rise with Lenus Almark backstopping them. The Florida Panthers will start the season without Matthew Kachchuck and Alexander Barkov for an extended period of time. They already picked up two points last night, albeit against the Chicago Blackhawks, and they’re pretty deep. They can sustain those two losses. I don’t think they’re in danger of missing the playoffs. The Toronto Maple Leafs lost Mitch Mner. That’s obviously going to hurt, but they still have Austin Matthews, William Knander, John Dvaris, Matthew Ny, and they should be able to withstand that loss by committee. And then you have the Tampa Bay Lightning, always strong, always deep. So, which of those five teams could drop out? maybe Montreal, maybe Ottawa, maybe Florida, but there’s no guarantees there. And you also have to contend with Detroit and Buffalo. On the Metro side of things, they could have four teams that jump into the mix. Maybe Washington doesn’t fall off. New Jersey and Carolina will be very tough. And you know, look look at the Rangers, although they got beat last night 3 nothing by the Pittsburgh Penguins. Uh the Columbus Blue Jackets are an upstart team. Not so sure about the Philly teams, but uh or the Pennsylvania teams, I should say. It’s not like the Bruins are just competing against themselves. Even if there is improvement, there’s very few teams who are not trying to be competitive. Maybe the Penguins, as they are probably a team in transition, might trade of getting Mulan at some point this season, maybe to the the Panthers. Um the Philadelphia Flyers probably not right there yet. The Sabres always seem to disappoint, but at the end of the day, the question is, can the Bruins score enough goals to boost the defensive improvements? There’s going to be a lot of one-goal games. Hopefully, they can at least limit the lopsided decisions that they had last season. There was so many like 8-1, 6-1, keep it close for a bit and then the other team just drops in like four goals or scores late like Ty Anderson’s list shows us. I just don’t know if they can score enough to be a playoff team. Like I said, the first line looks like a pretty reliable trio. There are signs of chemistry between C Pavalzaka, Casey Middlestat, and Victor Arvittson. But then the bottom two lines, again, we talked about it all this week. They prioritize grit, Sam Paper over offensive upside. Matte Luml, Fabian Lysel, Matt Potra, Alex Steves, Georgie Murculov all did not show enough in training camp to bump guys like Mark Castelick, Sean Carelli, Michael Eimont, John Beecher, Tanner Jano, Jeffrey VL out of the starting lineup. They could be harder to play against. They could be pains in the butt. They could have that piss and vinegar that Cam Neely is after, but they might not be able to to score very much. And the end of the day, hockeyy’s a pretty simple game. Score more than the opposition. You could go 082, get 82 points, lose it every game in a shootout, but you still need that sustained offensive attack in order to be a playoff team in today’s NHL. And I just don’t know if they have it. Maybe Jeremy Swayman is better, but still just kind of average, like a 905 safe percentage. Maybe they kill more penalties, but they can’t get the power play going. Maybe David Posternok still elite, but there’s still too big of a gap between him and the second highest score. You look at this team on paper and you put them up against the other teams in the um Atlantic Division, they just lack star power. Other teams can roll out Nikita Kuchra, Braden Point, Jay Gensel or William Neander, Austin Matthews, Matthew Ny or Sam Bennett, uh Carter Verhgggy, Brad Marshon, Matthew Kachchuck, Alexander Barkov when healthy or Brady Kachchuck, Tim Stutela, Drake Bathson, Clawiru, Dylan Cousins, Nick Suzuki Cole Cfield, your eyes, Ivan Demidov, Patrick Lade, probably Detroit and Buffalo not as much, but they still have Lucas Raymond, Dylan Larkin, Ta Thompson, Rasmus, Dalene. The Bruins really only have David Postak offensively to lead the charge. And I have very real questions about the offense by committee and whether it will be enough to get the necessary points to make the playoffs. And if they don’t, it might not necessarily be the worst outcome because we all know the 2026 NHL draft is very strong. And maybe you end up with better lottery results and can come out of it with Gavin McKenna to go again to go with James Hagens moving forward. What do you think? Let me know in the comments. Will they make the playoffs? Will they not make the playoffs? Uh, it’s going to be a very interesting season for the Boston Bruins. It all begins tonight against the Washington Capitals and it’s a game we’ll preview here as the podcast continues. The NFL season is well underway and FanDuel has an offer you do not want to miss. Right now, new customers can bet just $5 and get 300 in bonus bets if you win. That’s right. Just pick a bet, put down five bucks, and if it hits, you’ll unlock $300 in bonus bets to use across the app. People love how FanDuel gives them so many ways to play. You can build parlays, try player props, even follow the live lines during games. Makes watching football even more exciting when you’ve got a little something riding on the action. Whether you’re a casual fan or love diving into the stats, FanDuel makes the game day experience so much better. So, what are you waiting for? Visit fanuel.com to download the FanDuel app today. Get started by putting down five bucks. And if it wins, you’ll get $300 in bonus bets to use across the FanDuel app. Oh, gang. I’m really sorry for my voice. Let’s wrap this up by previewing tonight’s Bruins Capitals game. Before we get to that though, some news here from the Bruins. are naming three alternate captains for this season. Three guys will wear the A. David Post, Charlie Makavoy, and Hampus Lindome. That is your um threeheaded alternate captain. Now, very much expected that Makavoy and Pasta would be alternates. I’ve said all summer long that I believe Pasta should be given a I’ve argued as well that Nikita Zadorov was a dark horse candidate. Nice to see Hampus Lindholm being rewarded with that. Looks like they will go sealless all season long and see kind of what happens. So, expect three A’s. Uh no captain. Maybe a good decision for this team. There’s new coaches, new players. It’s a new identity. Let’s see who steps up and grabs the leadership reigns. First test will be tonight against the Washington Capitals, a team that was very, very good last season. 5122 and 9 backs stopped by Logan Thompson who went 316 and six with a 910 save percentage. Jeremy Swayman 229 and seven with an 892 save percentage. They were led in scoring by Dylan Stro who had 82 points. 53 of them were assists. Of course, Alex Ovuchetkin led the way with 44 goals to break Wayne Gretzky’s record. For the Bruins, it was all pasta. 43 goals, 63 assists, 106 points to lead the way for this team. The Capitals had kind of a middling power play. Ranked 13th, but they ranked fifth on the penalty kill. The Bruins were very bad in both categories. 29th on the power play, 24th on the penalty kill. Capitals had the second best offense in the NHL last season, 3.49 goals per game. Bruins were 27th at 2.71 and 26th in goals allowed at 3.3 while the Capitals allowed only 2.79. So, it’s going to be a very big test for the Boston Bruins tonight. Uh, Spencer Carbury, Jack Adams trophy winner, Marco Sturm looking to make a good first impression. Not too much else to say other than um, yeah, the Bruins need to come out and show us what they can do. Uh, I mentioned they had big seasons last year from Stro, Ovetchkin, Prois, Dubois, Wilson, Mcichael, uh, Jacob Chikin, John Carlson. This is a pretty good and deep team. Finished at top the Metro, one of the best teams in the NHL. Uh so for the Bruins to come out and prove to us that they are indeed kind of back. Um it’s going to be a big test and I’m excited to see what they can do. The NHL season began last night. A win for the Pittsburgh Penguins over the uh New York Rangers. former Bruin Justin Brazo who was traded last season to the Minnesota Wild for Husad. Jacob Loco got a hat-tick. So he is today’s Bruin of the day. Uh great story for Brazil. Of course we all know that he was an undrafted forward. Uh came up with the Toronto Marlies. Maybe he was only credited with two goals last night. Still a very nice performance for Justin Brazo, even with two goals that eclipses what he achieved in 19 games last season with the Minnesota Wild after being traded by the Boston Bruins. You could argue the Bruins should have maybe kept him uh because of his size and his scoring ability. Um Mike Sullivan was making his New York Rangers debut last night. Um but couldn’t beat the lowly New York or sorry Pittsburgh Penguins. Sullivan of course was a guy that we thought could become a Bruins coach but didn’t come to pass. Um he got two goals last night, both assisted by Agenei Malin. So he’s getting some prime time alongside a legendary player. Uh his careerhigh is 10 goals. He’s well on his way on pace for uh let’s see 164. So he should break that. Anyways, congrats to Justin Brezzo and he’s today’s Bruin of the day as a former Bruin. Who will be tomorrow’s? Well, let’s see what happens tonight. Who steps up in the season opener? That’s it for today’s episode. Reasons why the Bruins will and won’t make the playoffs. Hit me up on social NHLB Bruins with your thoughts. Will they or won’t they? Um, and again, apologies for the voice. Hopefully, it’s feeling a bit better tomorrow. Please do check out Locked on NHL game night. a full roundup of every game, every night until the Stanley Cup champion is crowned in 2026. It’s all part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your favorite team every single day. Please do take care of yourselves, friends. Take care of each other, and we’ll talk to you again here tomorrow on a fresh episode of Lockdown Boston Bruins.

It’s Opening Night for the Boston Bruins — and this season feels like a toss up.Host Ian McLaren breaks down both sides of the coin:✅ Why the Bruins can return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs — including a Vesna-level Jeremy Swayman, a healthy blue line led by McAvoy and Lindholm, and Marco Sturm’s renewed defensive structure.🚫 And why they might not — lingering scoring depth issues, a brutal Atlantic Division, and a “grit-over-skill” roster philosophy that could limit offense.

Plus: the team’s new alternate captains, Opening Night preview vs. Washington, and Bruin of the Day: Justin Brazeau lighting it up for Pittsburgh.

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