The Boston Bruins have not lost at the TD Garden since December 23. 

They also have not won a road game since January 17. 

The Bruins’ season has been defined by streaks. It began with a three-game win streak before immediately sliding into a six-game losing streak. They rebounded with a seven-game win streak, then faced another six-game losing streak. Now, the Bruins find themselves in the middle of the playoff push.

The home win streak is currently at the lucky number, 13, and the Bruins will look to make it 14 on Thursday night against the San Jose Sharks. 

Players have been quick to point at the support they get from the crowd, but it goes beyond that as well. During the run, they have outscored opponents 50-21. 

Both goaltenders have helped forge the path on home ice. Jeremy Swayman has nine of the 13 wins, and he has only conceded 15 goals (.939 SV%). Joonas Korpisalo has the other four, and he has only allowed six goals (.953 SV%).

“It’s excitement,” Swayman said after the 11th straight win. “It’s really fun to come to the rink and understand that we have a real chance at our ultimate goal. That’s something that we can rally around, especially at this time of year. We know that we are pushing together, all for each other, and obviously for this incredible fanbase.”

“We’ve been so comfortable here,” Mikey Eyssimont added. “Our fans help us out so much, I’m not even just saying that, we truly feel it on the bench. Even before the game, we’re excited to be here.”

The emergence of the second line has helped the Bruins as well. In the home win-streak, there have only been two games where all three linemates were held off the scoresheet (vs. Vegas, vs. Nashville). 

The Bruins are 25-8-1 at home, the best home record in the NHL. 

While the Bruins have won 13 straight at home, they have lost their last seven road games (0-3-4). They are 11-14-5 on the road, the worst record of any team currently in a playoff position. 

“It all goes back to the way we play, and for some reason, we just play smarter at home,” Marco Sturm said on Saturday. “We have no panic, no chaos, nothing. We know we will win this game, or we have that feeling. Could be the crowd, the noise – whatever it is. We just have to make sure we are going to do it on the road, too. On the road, we try really hard. Maybe that’s the problem. Maybe we want to overdo things and get in trouble.” 

Playing a complete 60-minute game has come as a challenge on the road. 

On Sunday, the Bruins saw a 3-0 lead vanish as they lost 5-4 in overtime. That was not the only game where they blew a lead; think back to the Stadium Series.  

In the last seven losses, Joonas Korpisalo has played in four of them, Swayman three. Korpisalo has allowed 18 goals (.856 SV%), and Swayman has conceded 13 (.865 SV%). The Bruins have been outscored 35-22 over their last seven road games. 

After every loss, as cliché as it sounds, almost every player who meets with the media mentions moving on to the next game. They have been able to turn the page quickly. In the game after a loss since the New Year, they are 7-0-1. 

It helps that a majority of those games have come on home ice. 

The bigger issue surrounding the troubles on the road is the upcoming schedule. Eleven of the remaining 17 games are on the road, including a three-game road trip starting on Saturday and an April four-game road trip. 

But Charlie McAvoy sent a message after the loss in Nashville.

“Every game we play the rest of the way is the most important game of the year,” he said. “I don’t know if we have that urgency yet, and we are going to play teams that have that urgency. I don’t know if that’s something that we’ve talked about, and maybe that’s shame on us.”

Marco Sturm agrees, though he knows the bar has already been raised.

“For us, the playoffs already started a long time ago,” Marco Sturm said after practice on Wednesday. “I think those games are very, very good and important for us moving forward. Especially for the guys who have never been in that position.” 

The Bruins sit in the second wild card spot, trailing the Detroit Red Wings by one point for the top wild card, and two points behind Montreal for the third spot in the Atlantic Division. The Columbus Blue Jackets, who are on a seven-game point streak, are two points behind the Bruins. 

Maintaining their dominance on home ice while solving their road troubles is more than critical in the Bruins’ chase for the postseason. 

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