![\"Marco](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Marco-Sturm-Bruins-1200x800.jpg\")
Boston Bruins head coach Marco Sturm will need to dig deep into his playbook to help the Bruins turn things around in time for the playoffs. (Brad Penner-Imagn Images)<\/p>\nThe Boston Bruins entered Saturday\u2019s matinee against the Tampa Bay Lightning with a chance to clinch a 2026 Stanley Cup Playoff berth. In many cases, clinching a postseason opportunity requires help from other teams. Unlike many teams this time of year, the Bruins\u2019 path was simple: win, and they\u2019re in.<\/p>\n
This is not how things ended up going.<\/p>\n
Low-scoring affairs are all too common in the playoffs, but that\u2019s often due to a combination of a few factors. Whether it\u2019s teams playing a more conservative brand of hockey to limit opportunities, solid defensive structures mitigating scoring chances, strong goaltending play or a combination of the three, the average score in playoff games is often lower than in the regular season.<\/p>\n
Boston Bruins head coach Marco Sturm will need to dig deep into his playbook to help the Bruins turn things around in time for the playoffs. (Brad Penner-Imagn Images)<\/p>\n
Losing a 2-1 game in a must-win situation isn\u2019t the end of the world. There are still two games left for the Bruins to win, which head coach Marco Sturm mentioned in his postgame press conference.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were hoping for a big day and afternoon here in Boston. Unfortunately, it didn\u2019t happen,\u201d said Sturm<\/a>. \u201cAgain, we have to look at the positives. The positive for me is we still have two games left, still in our control. We\u2019re going to get back at it tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n While Sturm is right, it wasn\u2019t the result of the game that was as concerning as the way the game went.<\/p>\n Bruins Losing Due to Self-Inflicted Wounds<\/p>\n Morgan Geekie may have rediscovered his scoring touch<\/a> with four goals in the last two games, but the Bruins as a whole are still struggling to generate consistent offense. Despite that, they\u2019ve been content to keep James Hagens on the sideline in must-win situations instead of seeing if he can spark something.<\/p>\n It\u2019s fair to say that Hagens is young, inexperienced and must learn the Bruins defensive system before jumping into action. It\u2019s also fair to note that the Bruins were guilty of far too many turnovers in their own zone against the Lightning, with the most costly coming just seconds before Emil Lilleberg scored the game-winner with 1:35 remaining.<\/p>\n Related: 3 Things the Bruins Need in Final 3 Games of 2025-26<\/a><\/p>\n Hagens lacks experience in the system, but the veteran players in the lineup didn\u2019t demonstrate enough to prove that they were worth any more trust than the 19-year-old Hagens. If they can\u2019t play a responsible brand of hockey in a must-win game while also failing to score, then something has to give.<\/p>\n If it weren\u2019t for Jeremy Swayman<\/a> playing a tremendous game, things could have been much worse than the final score indicated. Right now, the Bruins are their own biggest enemy.<\/p>\n Even if the Bruins do clinch a playoff berth, they\u2019ll be in for a very short postseason run if they can\u2019t get out of their own way and get back to basics. From the top down, everybody needs to be better. It starts with Sturm\u2019s personnel decisions and coaching pre-game and mid-game. From there, the players need to be more responsible in their own zone, play a more deliberate brand of hockey for a full 60 minutes and find a way to generate offense without being defensive liabilities.<\/p>\n The Bruins did show some positives despite the turnovers and lack of scoring, but at this stage of the season, that only goes so far. If they don\u2019t clean up the mistakes quickly, those positives won\u2019t matter for long. If the Bruins can build on the positives and clean up the mistakes, they could still make some noise in the playoffs. Whether they actually do will depend on how quickly these changes come.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a>![\"SUBSCRIBE](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Bruins_Banner-1200x122.jpg\")
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