James Hagens’ growing confidence and other observations from Bruins’ 1st road trip
Boston Bruins
Mark Kastelic has been a key cog in Boston’s forward corps, while Mason Lohrei is making a valid case to remain in the Bruins’ starting lineup.
The Bruins’ first road trip of the 2026-27 season ended with a 1-1 split against the Winnipeg Jets and Minnesota Wild, with Marco Sturm’s club presenting some promise — and red flags — during that two-game trek.
Here are a few observations from Boston’s road trip:
Special-teams woes loom large
The Bruins opened their 2026-27 campaign with a 2-1 record, headlined by a shutout win over the Rangers last week and a gutsy comeback victory in overtime against the Jets on Friday.
But Boston’s play on special teams has been a cause for concern — with the problems put on display in Saturday’s 4-1 setback against the Wild.
Boston didn’t convert on any of its three power-play bids against Minnesota, while also relinquishing two Wild power-play tallies to Kirill Kaprizov and Quinn Hughes.
So far this season, Boston has failed to cash in on any of its six power-play bids, while its penalty kill is only operating at a 57.1 percent success rate.
Problems with the PK plagued Boston throughout the 2025-26 season. The Bruins were ranked 24th in the league last season in shorthanded opportunities (77.0 percent).
But, Boston’s power play was a pillar of the Bruins’ resurgent campaign last season, ranking ninth in the league with a 23.4 percent success rate.
If anything, the Bruins’ personnel on that top unit should be even better this season with JJ Peterka in place, while Steve Spott stands as one of the top power-play coaches in the league.
So far, it hasn’t clicked through three games, with the return of Charlie McAvoy next week as a shot-ready option from the blue line looming large.
Two players who could also earn a larger role? Fraser Minten (2:02 power-play reps on Saturday) might see more time at the bumper spot, while James Hagens (2:44 power-play reps on Saturday) has popped when it comes to gaining clean entries with the puck on his stick.
“Honestly, power play is not clicking right now,” David Pastrnak said Saturday. “Offensively, I think we just need to create more [at] 5-on-5.”
Sturm might like what Minten has to offer as the center between a pair of youngsters in Hagens and Marat Khusnutdinov.
But with Boston’s top line of Elias Lindholm, Pastrnak, and Peterka laboring on Saturday, Sturm replaced Lindholm with Minten for a majority of the third period.
“Yeah, just looking for something,” Sturm said of Minten’s brief promotion. “We kind of got stuck a little bit after they scored, and I was just shortening the bench a little bit and trying to get something out of it.”
That reworked top line didn’t cash in on Saturday. But in the 4:27 of 5-on-5 reps that the Peterka-Minten-Pastrnak line has logged this season, Boston has outshot opponents 5-2 and held a 3-1 edge in high-danger scoring chances.
Meanwhile, a line of Peterka-Lindholm-Pastrnak has logged 33:01 of 5-on-5 reps so far through three games — with Boston scoring one 5-on-5 goal and giving up a 5-on-5 tally, and opponents holding a 9-4 edge in high-danger scoring chances.
With Boston not generating much on the power play out of the gate, it’ll be interesting to see if Sturm again turns to Minten if Boston’s top forward line isn’t tilting the ice in the team’s favor at 5-on-5 play.
In the 288 minutes of 5-on-5 reps during which Pastrnak and Minten skated together on the same line last season, the Bruins outscored opponents 22-7.
James Hagens stacking solid performances
Peterka’s speed and skill have been on display to open the year, as evidenced by his highlight-reel tally against the Rangers and his overtime winner on Friday against the Jets.
But, the Bruins also had another high-skilled forward make a strong impression on this road trip, with Hagens scoring his first career NHL goal on Friday night.
“Makes me feel old,” Hampus Lindholm said of the 19-year-old Hagens lighting the lamp. “No, it’s fun. He’s a great kid. He wants to do well, so it’s fun to see him get that goal and hopefully get some extra confidence there.”
After a quiet debut last week against the Rangers, Hagens seems to be settling in a bit more across Boston’s forward corps.
In his 37:04 of 5-on-5 ice time, the Bruins have yet to surrender a 5-on-5 goal — although opponents have held a 14-12 edge in scoring chances.
Hagens didn’t land on the scoresheet on Saturday against the Wild, but he did fire three shots on goal over 13:43 of ice time and logged nearly three minutes of ice time on the man advantage.
Expectations should still be kept in check for a 19-year-old rookie in the midst of his first full season in the NHL. But Hagens seems to be making more and more positive plays with each new game.
If Boston’s offense continues to stagnate out of the gate, Sturm could carve out even more reps for a gifted youngster like Hagens.
Early standouts and struggles
There have been a few players further down on Boston’s depth chart who have impressed so far this season.
Boston’s leading scorer out of the gate? Mark Kastelic, who has posted a point in each of the Bruins’ first three games.
Kastelic’s value was put on display during Friday’s win over Winnipeg, with the 27-year-old forward snapping Boston out of a listless start by dropping the gloves with Jets scrapper Tyrel Bauer.
“Big fight. That kid over there has been pretty tough,” Sturm said. “So good for him. But we needed it. … Those guys, I feel like they always know when to [fight], and that was a big game-changer for us.”
Kastelic needed to go in the room for repairs after a few heavy hooks from Bauer landed. But he did return later in the first period, driving to the net and setting up Hagens’ first NHL goal.
Kastelic has been as advertised in Boston’s bottom-six unit, providing plenty of pace, skill, and snarl for Sturm’s forward corps.
Mason Lohrei was seemingly mired in no-man’s-land this offseason, especially after he was scratched for a few games during Boston’s playoff run in April and May.
But, even with the glut of Boston’s D-men on the roster (with that logjam getting even larger once McAvoy returns next week), Lohrei has made a legitimate case to remain in the Bruins’ lineup moving forward.
Lohrei’s poise with the puck has been sharp through three games, with the 25-year-old blueliner making a sizable impact in Boston’s transition game. If Lohrei can continue to alleviate some of the pressure with Boston’s breakouts, he should be able to remain in Boston’s six-man starting unit.
The same can’t be said for Jonathan Aspirot, who hasn’t looked like the same steady presence he was during his impressive rookie season.
Aspirot could be the first man out if Sturm wants to make a few tweaks to the lineup, especially if Boston’s bench boss wants to carve out an opportunity to get Frederic Brunet in the lineup over the next few games.
Boston is also going to need slightly more tangible results from its second line of Morgan Geekie, Pavel Zacha, and Casey Mittelstadt. A greater shot volume will be needed, especially from Geekie, who didn’t land a shot on goal in Saturday’s loss to Minnesota.
Zacha and Mittelstadt’s chemistry and ability to win puck battles have carried over from last year. But Boston’s second line was so lethal last year because it had a triggerman in Viktor Arvidsson who could cash in on those Grade-A looks.
Geekie has the shot to capitalize on those opportunities. But he needs to put more pucks on net.
Pastrnak anded five shots on goal over 21:02 of ice time against the Wild, but there were also several instances where Boston’s top player deferred and looked to pass when the best play was simply uncorking his shot.
“You can start with me,” Pastrnak said of ramping up shots. “Yeah, I definitely want to be more direct, shoot more pucks. … Like I said, we’re not creating enough to give them away. So once we get there, we should obviously be more direct and shoot the puck more.”
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