Going into Thursday night’s game against the Ottawa Senators, it is no secret that the Boston Bruins are off to a good start this season. The Bruins have started the season 11-7-0 and are tied with the Montreal Canadiens, who enter Thursday night at 10-4-2 for first place in the Atlantic Division.
Related: Projected Lineups for Bruins vs. Senators – 11/13/25
Sure, Boston has two games in hand against their bitter rivals, but that doesn’t change how effective they’ve been so far. The fact that the Bruins have been there four overtime/shootout situationsand coming out on top every time is a testament to the turnaround this team has undergone during the offseason. However, there is more to the story than just superficial success.
There are many reasons why they turned it around so well, but ultimately it comes down to three big ones.
3. Goalkeeping has improved
Entering the 2025-26 season, one of the Bruins’ biggest concerns was the goaltending situation. Jeremy Swayman was paid like a top goalie in the league, but did not perform like a top goalie. Moreover, Joonas Korpisalo was paid decently, but demanded more playing time.
After sharing duties with Korpisalo between the pipes to start the season, and getting off to a bit of a shaky start, Swayman set out to prove the doubters wrong. To say he did would be putting it mildly, especially after he got it two consecutive starts against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Since joining the Senators on Oct. 27, Swayman has won four in a row despite the team allowing an average of 32 shots per game. Sure, it’s early, but he’s already lowered his goals-against average (GAA) to 3.08 (from 3.11) and increased his save percentage (SV%) to .900 (from .892).
Korpisalo has played in seven games and compiled a 4-3-0 record, but he has also won his last three starts – the last on Nov. 6 when he defeated Ottawa.
Heading into the season, people wondered if the trend of one goalie starting one night and another starting the next would continue. However, head coach Marco Sturm has given them all a chance to come back or continue if they play well.
Korpisalo isn’t exactly holding steady, though, with a GAA of 3.24 and an SV% of 0.885. They might want to give Michael DiPietro a start soon. DiPietro is currently undefeated through seven American Hockey League starts with the Providence Bruins and has a GAA of 2.13 and an SV% of .929.
2. The team finally has a secondary score
Going into the season, it was a given that David Pastrnak would have another monster campaign. He certainly did that in eighteen games. Entering Thursday night’s game with the Senators, he has ten goals and twelve assists (22 points) and only five games in which he did not have a point. Ironically, two of those were against Ottawa, but that’s beside the point (no pun intended).
For the first time in what seems like a long time, the Bruins finally have secondary scoring outside of Pastrnak. There are four others who have achieved double-digit points, albeit only one with double-digit goals.
An encouraging sign for Boston is that four other players on the cusp of double-digit points — all but one, coincidentally — have four goals and five assists. The other is McAvoy’s defensive partner, Mason Lohrei.
In a league where scoring reigns supreme, you can never have too many. The advantage of the Bruins game is that it is played by multiple players. As the season goes on, it will only keep coming.
1. The special teams have improved tremendously
Boston’s penalty kill and power play units finished 28th and 21st in the league respectively last season – it was just a dismal performance whether they were a man up or down. This season, however, was a completely different story.
Through the first 18 games, the Bruins have converted 25% of their power plays and are eighth in the league. The penalty kill stands at 81.2%, even wiping out their first 14 penalties of the season.
Part of the credit can be attributed to the goaltending and offensive prowess this team possesses, but the other part is that both units just work so well together. That part comes down to coaching. It’s no secret that Sturm has been a revelation, both in terms of culture and personality.
Many more reasons why Boston has been successful
For some reason, this Boston team seems to be different than the team of the past. These three reasons are certainly part of why that is, but there are many ways in which they look, sound and feel different to fans and media members alike.
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