BRIGHTON – The Boston Bruins looked a little different at practice on Wednesday.
After their second straight loss and an uninspiring showing on home ice, Marco Sturm rolled out new line combinations for practice at Warrior Ice Arena. He tinkered with the lines during the Bruins’ 4-1 loss on Monday and changed them again two days later.
“I mean, [I] wanted to change a little bit, but we’ll see,” Marco Sturm said after practice. “Tried something today. We’ll see tomorrow when we wake up and meet again with the coaching staff and see if we like it or not and go from there.”
Sturm united Czech-mates Pavel Zacha and David Pastrnak on the first line, skating them alongside Morgan Geekie. The trio skated together for 5:34 of Monday’s game. Together, they had a 90.75% expected goals share and finished with a 7-6 edge in shot attempts. They also have experience playing together on the power play, and they spent 35:52 with each other last season at 5-on-5.
“It was good,” Zacha said on Wednesday. “I think we had a little bit of a chance to play together last period of the game and had some good looks there. So I think, with Pasta, we know where we are on the ice. We know how to play together, so we just have to be good when you get the chance to play like this and capitalize, help the team win games.”
Elias Lindholm and Casey Mittelstadt moved down to the third line, and both Fraser Minten and Marat Khusnutdinov are getting a look in the top six. JJ Peterka skated with Minten and Khusnutdinov, and James Hagens skated with the two veterans. After Monday’s game, Marco Sturm said, “As a group, we just got to help those kids out,” and on Wednesday, he doubled down.
“Yeah, it’s gonna take two, both parties, right? You’re gonna have those guys as a veteran, as a leader, and you got the young kid who still needs to learn,” Sturm said of the third line. “So yeah, hopefully it’s gonna be a line. … Mittelstadt and Lindholm, they’re not just good hockey players, but they’re also good people. So I think [Hagens] shouldn’t be nervous. He shouldn’t be tight. I think it will be something very comfortable because these guys are there to help too, on and off the ice. So we’ll see.”
“He’s a young kid, yes, but he also needs to be better too. So we all try to help.”
Marco Sturm on playing Hagens with Mittelstadt and Lindholm:⁰⁰“Yeah, it’s gonna take two, both parties, right? You’re gonna have those guys as a veteran, as a leader, and you got the young kid who still needs to learn. So yeah, hopefully it’s gonna be a line. … Mittelstadt and… pic.twitter.com/G2R2nQse3T
— Jack Studley (@jackstudley13) October 7, 2026
The Bruins have also had early-season struggles with special teams. They have gone scoreless on 10 power play attempts through their first four games, and they are one of five teams without a power play goal this early in the season. According to Natural Stat Trick, the Bruins have 1.24 expected goals on the power play, which ranks 26th in the league.
Marco Sturm did not have an answer after Monday’s game but had more to say two days later.
“Yeah, we played on the outside a lot,” Sturm said of the power play. “If you want to start with zone, yeah, the breakouts too, but I think the biggest thing is in the zone, we’re just not direct enough. We didn’t have that intensity, the drive to play fast and also attack that net.”
“I think Spotter (Steve Spott) had a good meeting this morning just to remind them again about the things we’ve done well, so hopefully those guys get clicking here pretty quickly.”
The Bruins finished with a top-10 power play last year. However, after the Olympic break, the Bruins’ power play spiraled. They dropped from third to ninth, and in that 25-game span, the Bruins finished 11-for-68 (16.2%) on the man-advantage.
They went 2-for-16 (12.5%) in the first round against the Sabres.
“One of the things is we play a little bit too high up, I think. That’s the mistakes we get scored on,” Zacha said of the power play. “I think playing the low plays, that’s what we talked about a lot. That’s what we were successful with last year. I think those little bumper plays, low plays, some of the high tips, we have to do a little bit more than we did. That’s what gives us confidence. Being more down in the offensive zone, make those little plays, support each other. I think now when we get to the one, we try to make that harder play to kind of try to have a scoring chance of it, and it doesn’t work good.”
It’s only four games into the season, so it’s too early to hit the panic button. However, the Bruins and Philadelphia Flyers are the only teams that have yet to score on the power play but have given up a shorthanded goal.
The Bruins opted for similarly structured power play units on Wednesday. David Pastrnak, Morgan Geekie, Pavel Zacha, and Elias Lindholm skated with Frederic Brunet on the first unit. Charlie McAvoy took a few reps with the group, and he’s expected to take those minutes once he returns next week.
After practice, Sturm said Brunet will get some action with the top unit, “and we’ll see how he does.”
Hampus Lindholm was with JJ Peterka, James Hagens, Casey Mittelstadt, and Fraser Minten on the second unit.
The Bruins continue their three-game homestand against the Utah Mammoth on Thursday night at TD Garden. The Mammoth are 3-1-0 and in the middle of a five-game road trip to the Eastern Conference.
Bruins Practice Lines
FOLLOW @JACKSTUDLEY13 ON 𝕏 | FOLLOW @BOSHockeyNow ON 𝕏