The Boston Bruins have exceeded expectations to this point in the 2025-26 NHL season. Many experts and analytics models predicted the B’s would miss the playoffs for the second year in a row and possibly even finish among the bottom 10 teams again.

While that scenario could still play out, making the playoffs is actually a realistic goal for this group.

The Bruins are one of three teams tied for third place in the Atlantic Division. Early season struggles for the Toronto Maple Leafs and two-time defending champion Florida Panthers have made the division race pretty competitive. First place and sixth place are separated by just seven points as of Thursday morning.

If the Bruins are going to remain in the playoff race until the end, there are a couple things that must improve ASAP, and one of them is overall team defense.

The Bruins are making their goaltenders’ jobs much tougher than it needs to be with the way they’re defending.

For example, the Bruins have allowed the most shot attempts (1474) of any team at even strength. They’ve also given up the fifth-most shots on net (667), the fourth-most high-danger chances (300) and the second-most scoring chances (696) at even strength, per Natural Stat Trick.

Tuesday’s 5-4 loss to the Red Wings in Detroit was a good example of Boston’s lackluster defense.

The B’s allowed 31 scoring chances at even strength, their fifth-highest in any game this season. They also allowed 13 high-danger chances during even strength play, and the Red Wings scored on three of them. It was a particularly tough game for veteran defenseman Andrew Peeke.

So if the Bruins are defending so poorly, how are they still in the playoff race?

Well, their special teams have been strong. They have the sixth-best power play and the eighth-best penalty kill.

Jeremy Swayman also has improved a lot after his disappointing 2024-25 campaign. The star goaltender went 8-2-0 with a .935 save percentage in November.

He also ranks No. 2 among all goalies with 17.1 goals saved above expected, per MoneyPuck. He has given up 50 goals with an expected goals against of 67.1 through 18 appearances. This means he’s bailing out a lot of the defensive mistakes that the Bruins are making in front of him.

Swayman didn’t play well Tuesday against the Red Wings, but overall, he’s been one of Boston’s top players.

The loss of Charlie McAvoy is a tough setback for the Bruins’ defense. He’s an elite top-pairing defenseman who plays in all situations. Henri Jokiharju also missed Tuesday’s game, and Mike Callahan left in the first period with a lower body injury. But even with these injuries, the Bruins should not be this bad defensively.

The Bruins have been better offensively than expected and currently rank 11th in even-strength goals, in addition to their top-six power play. They are also getting a bounce-back season from Swayman. Many of the ingredients for a playoff push are present, but the defense must improve or the losses could start to pile up.