BOSTON — One year ago, a day after the 2025 trade deadline, new acquisitions Henri Jokiharju, Marat Khusnutdinov, Jakub Lauko and Casey Mittelstadt made their Boston Bruins debuts in a 4-0 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning.
There was nothing like that Saturday.
Jonathan Aspirot (illness) and Alex Steeves (healthy scratch), neither of whom played in the Bruins’ 6-3 loss to the Nashville Predators on Thursday, were in Saturday’s lineup for the 3-1 win over the Washington Capitals. Lukas Reichel, Alexis Gendron and Massimo Rizzo, Friday’s pickups, were in the AHL.
Aside from a possible James Hagens arrival once Boston College’s year ends, the Bruins’ roster will not undergo significant change for the rest of the regular season.
“It’s probably a good thing. That means we did a lot of good things,” coach Marco Sturm said of retaining the roster after the deadline. “It means the players did a lot of good things. It also means we trust in the group we have right now. These guys worked extremely hard to get to this point. We feel pretty comfortable going into the last stretch that these guys can play the same way they have in the past.”
At times, David Pastrnak felt like the last man standing last year. Brad Marchand, Pastrnak’s captain, was traded. Charlie McAvoy, the other primary alternate captain, suffered a season-ending shoulder surgery and infection at the 4 Nations Face-Off. In the game before last year’s deadline, Charlie Coyle and Brandon Carlo joined Pastrnak as alternate captains. Both were traded the next day.
So to see everybody stay this time made Pastrnak feel very good.
“We love each other in the group,” the right wing said. “Everybody speaks pretty openly the whole season about the group of guys we have in the room and how much we love each other on and off the ice. Management feels the same way. There was nothing to help the group. It just proves they have trust in us. We’re a good group here. We work hard for each other every night. We just need to keep it going.”
By winning Saturday, the Bruins stretched their lead over the Capitals to 6 points for the No. 2 wild-card position. They claimed the 2 points by executing in what could be considered their three primary strengths: goaltending, power play and shooting above expectation.
Jeremy Swayman stopped 22 of 23 shots. According to MoneyPuck, the ace stopped 1.4 goals above expected.
Swayman is likely to cede the net to Joonas Korpisalo on Sunday against the Pittsburgh Penguins. But Swayman could start the three following games. The Bruins do not play back-to-back games until March 16 and 17 against the New Jersey Devils and Montreal Canadiens.
Swayman’s game continued to slide after last year’s deadline. Nothing signals a repeat.
“It’s the best feeling ever as a player,” Swayman said of this year’s roster staying together. “You don’t want to see any guys leave. These are your brothers you started training camp with. Every one of us deserves to be in this locker room. The bond we’ve created is tight.”
At the other end, Pavel Zacha scored on the power play to give the Bruins a 1-0 lead. The Bruins recorded 11 PP shots over six opportunities. Sturm knows there is work to do. The Bruins are 3 for 19 (15.8 percent) following the Olympics. They have slid to No. 6 overall (25.3 percent).
“We’re not there yet,” Sturm said. “I know we scored today. But the flow was a little bit missing today, too. That’s part of the power play, too. Sometimes you get in those little stretches.”
The power play left offense on the table Saturday. Viktor Arvidsson did not.
The No. 2 right wing scored a five-on-five breakaway goal in the third period for the winning goal. Arvidsson is No. 2 on the team with 13 five-on-five goals. According to Natural Stat Trick, Arvidsson has 11.14 expected goals. The Bruins are relying on the 32-year-old to continue tucking more pucks than expected.
“Amazing add to our team,” Pastrnak said of the former Edmonton Oiler, acquired for a fifth-round pick July 1, 2025. “He’s been playing great. The second line is pretty much the only line that’s been together the whole season. They’ve had chemistry right from the beginning of the year. There’s nights they win the game for us.”
The Bruins could have moved the pending unrestricted free agent for futures before Friday’s deadline. He knew the situation. But trading Arvidsson could have dislodged the No. 2 line if the Bruins didn’t bring back help at wing in another deal.
Arvidsson understood the situation. He was not keen on leaving.
“You always don’t know what’s going to happen. In my case, I was in a little bit of control,” said Arvidsson, who waived his no-movement protection last year to come to the Bruins. “I’ve just been in the league for so long. I know anything can happen.”