It’s been quite clear for some time now that there is a different, better, and improved vibe to this year’s edition of the Boston Bruins.
They are winning more, obviously, and they will enter the Christmas break in a playoff spot after commencing the season with very little in the way of expectations, and they have done it amidst injuries and an incredibly challenging schedule in an Olympic year. The Black and Gold continued their winning ways with a 4-1 victory over the Utah Mammoth at TD Garden on Tuesday night that featured a two-goal performance for Morgan Geekie, who is now scoring on 28.2 percent of his shots on net.
It also ended in a spirited, physical way with Alex Steeves and Sean Durzi getting tossed for grappling at the end of the game as a brouhaha broke out in front of the benches, a polar opposite of what might have been expected as a sleepy Tuesday night effort against a Western Conference team in their first home game back after a long road trip.
Brawl breaks out at TD while "Feliz Navidad" plays the entire time 😂
— NESN (@NESN) December 17, 2025
Happy Holidays from your Boston Bruins 🎄 pic.twitter.com/KiVCoXQ3Fu
There have been no throwaway games like that this season and very few dips in play despite an overwhelming laundry list of injuries and adversity.
And like in many games, both wins and losses this season, the Bruins are getting offensive production up and down the lineup with both Casey Mittelstadt and Mikey Eyssimont extending the lead in the third period at a time when the Bruins are routinely pulling away from opponents.
MIKEY EYSSIMONT SHEESH. 4-1 pic.twitter.com/Ft5NCe1Ims
— Spoked Z (@SpokedZ) December 17, 2025
Part of it is personnel to be sure, part of it is a definite upgrade in coaching and part of it is most definitely better chemistry and leadership within the Bruins dressing room this season. Holdovers from last season are careful about differentiating between the two groups, but it seems pretty obvious that this season’s new combination of players is exactly what was needed for a previously sagging Original Six franchise.
“I am going to tread lightly on this because I don’t want to take a shot at last year, or anything, because there were a lot of guys that aren’t here anymore that I love deeply,” said Charlie McAvoy. “But the chemistry this year, it feels a little different and maybe we were able to water that seed a little bit more.
“Last year we were right on the road and didn’t get a chance to do any of the bonding stuff to get to know each other and before we knew it Monty was fired, and whatever…this year has been a little bit different. We were able to maybe learn a little bit from the lessons of last year and find a way to get this team as cohesive and as close as we can, and I think it has really helped us in this first half a lot.”
There were perhaps fewer better examples of that fine team chemistry than the way the Bruins handled business when David Pastrnak was out of the lineup with an undisclosed injury. The B’s went a solid 3-2-0 in the five games without their most dynamic game-breaker and similarly stayed afloat when McAvoy was out of the lineup for an extended period after taking a slap shot to the jaw.
Last season, things would have immediately funneled into a downward spiral of blowout defeats and finding new and interesting ways to lose games.
Instead, this edition of the Bruins' leadership group has held strong and rallied around