Bruins coach Marco Sturm, behind the bench for six straight losses just a few weeks ago, is no longer playing bus driver or worrying about his team’s buy-in.
Instead, with wins in five straight games (their longest winning streak since Jan. 2024), and with victories in six of their last seven games overall, Sturm knows the bus (and his team) is operating at full capacity.
“In Ottawa, that was the only [bad] game. Other than that, these guys give me everything they have, they really do,” Sturm said following Boston’s 3-2 overtime win over the Senators on Thursday night. “Did we play the way we wanted early on? Probably not. But I think everyone gets it now. Everyone knows me now, knows what I want out of them. Everyone has accepted their role, does their job. I could go on and on. And that’s the way we have to play.”
It also helps that Thursday’s win over the Sens came with the Black and Gold being able to serve a little payback after Ottawa downright smacked the club around the last time these teams met just over a week ago.
Here’s a look at the 985TheSportsHub.com 3 Stars of the game…
3rd Star: Charlie McAvoy
Nov 1, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy (73) with the puck during the first period at TD Garden. (Eric Canha-Imagn Images)
In overtime, Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy felt like a man who would not be denied. So much so that McAvoy decided to go back-to-back on game-winning goal attempts, and found himself and his linemates rewarded on the second try on Linus Ullmark. And as we’ve seen time and time again, when McAvoy is pushing like that, he’s a dangerous player for the Bruins.
“Charlie made a hell of a play for a big win,” Sturm said.
On the board with the primary assist on the game-winning overtime strike, McAvoy also came through with a game-high 31 shifts and game-high 26:12 of time on ice (and almost five minutes more than the next-closest Boston defenseman), and had a penalty drawn for the B’s.
2nd Star: Joonas Korpisalo
Nov 6, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Bruins goaltender Joonas Korpisalo (70) makes a save on a shot by Senators center Shane Pinto (12) during overtime. (Brian Fluharty/Imagn Images)
When Bruins netminder Joonas Korpisalo allowed the first goal of the night on the first shot he faced, there were some Ottawa fans going, “Oh, I remember that.” It was something that had haunted Korpisalo during his Sens tenure, and it’s been a bit of an issue for the Bruins this season, with Korpisalo allowing a goal on the first shot faced four times this season (Korpisalo’s partner in goal Jeremy Swayman has done it three times himself, by the way).
But as he has so often this season, Korpisalo buckled down from there, and turned in yet another strong outing for the B’s to get the dub.
Tagged for 22 shots, Korpisalo stopped 20 shots in the win, and had some absolutely dynamite saves in the third period and overtime. One of his better saves in what was a nine-save third period came with the Bruins down a guy, with a pair of in-tight stops on Ottawa’s Shane Pinto.
Korpisalo finished this one with stops on six of the seven high-danger shots he faced (per NaturalStatTrick.com), and if you’re looking for ‘timely saves’ out of him, he’s now stopped all five overtime shots he’s faced this season.
1st Star: Andrew Peeke
Nov 1, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Bruins defenseman Andrew Peeke (26) shoots the puck during the first period at TD Garden. (Eric Canha-Imagn Images)
Most of the time, when Bruins defenseman Andrew Peeke has a good game, it’s going to be quiet. His style of play will naturally fly under the radar, and be lauded for how it stifles the opposition and keeps ’em silenced.
But on Thursday night, Peeke took a beating (and then some), and put himself on the board with some points for the Black and Gold.
Deployed for 20:10 of time on ice, Peeke finished this game with two assists, two shots on goal, two blocked shots, and a takeaway. It was all blood and guts all night for him, too, and it was enough for Peeke to be named the grinder of the game by his teammates.
“That is why [Peeke] is big for our team: because he does the dirty work,” Sturm said following the victory.