The Boston Bruins have had a rocky start to the 2024-25 season. A small sense of panic has begun to set in among the Boston media and Bruins faithful, a panic that isn’t unfounded but perhaps isn’t justified yet. At 8-7-2, it’s not the strong start we’re used to seeing from them in recent campaigns, but they currently sit in third place in the Atlantic Division with enough time to s warm up and solidify themselves as contenders ahead of the 2025 trade deadline. After a Comeback victory 3-2 against the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday night (November 12), it feels like the Bruins have some momentum, and it’s imperative that they build on that in the rest of the games to come.

Bruins’ lackluster start

The Bruins’ October Was As Poor As We’ve Seen in recent memory. They finished the month with a 4-6-1 record with several ugly losses. It’s important to see a team string together a few wins and avoid accumulating losses, especially early in the season when the team is aiming to integrate new faces and establish an identity. The Bruins couldn’t do it.

The bottom of this young season came on Halloween when they were completely outplayed in a road game against the Carolina Hurricanes, when the Bruins scored eight goals and were outshot 37-15 . Speculation began to swirl that head coach Jim Montgomery’s job might be in jeopardy, and rumors began to arise about which players the team was going to think about shopping if they became sellers by the deadline. Thanks to a few positive events so far in November, these rumors have subsided to some extent. However, the team still has work to do to solidify themselves as contenders and buyers at the deadline.

A potential turning point

After back-to-back shutout victories in early November, the Bruins have alternated between losses to improve to 4-1-1 so far this month. While an improvement from their lackluster start, the on-ice product hasn’t been very encouraging at times. In a 3-2 overtime loss to the Ottawa Senators on Saturday (Nov. 9), they failed to get a shot on goal in the third period, playing some of their worst hockey of the season until now.