Boston Bruins

"I gotta look at some video today and decide tomorrow. And we'll go from there."

The only thing standing between the Bruins and a spot in the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs on Saturday was a win in any capacity against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Motivated by a frustrating four-game losing skid on the road and refreshed from three days off between matchups, Marco Sturm echoed plenty of optimism entering Saturday’s matinee on Causeway Street.

​“Hopefully, it is going to be a great day for the Boston Bruins. The guys deserve everything. Playing that great all season long. Hopefully, we get rewarded today, this afternoon,” Sturm said. “We are going to try to do everything in our power to make this happen.”

Such a result didn’t play out, at least not off of Boston’s own merit.

​Despite holding a slim 1-0 advantage entering the third period, the Bruins let said lead slip through their fingers, with Tampa leaving TD Garden with a 2-1 victory — extending Boston’s losing streak to five games.

​“We were hoping for a big day and afternoon here in Boston. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen,” Sturm said. “Again, we have to look at the positives. The positive for me is we still have two games left, still in our control. We’re going to get back at it tomorrow.”

​Despite Boston’s extended slide over the last week, the Bruins don’t have to fret about a late-season collapse amid their playoff push.

Even with Saturday’s loss, Boston still clinched a playoff berth on Saturday after both the New York Islanders and Detroit Red Wings lost in regulation.

Still, the optics are concerning for a Bruins team that seems to be stuck in a rut with playoff hockey right around the corner.

Despite Boston’s five-goal salvo against Carolina on Tuesday, the Bruins’ offense has flatlined over the last week.

In four of those five losses, Boston lit the lamp just one time.

Given that sustained stretch of listless scoring punch, could the Bruins turn to top prospect James Hagens on Sunday for their road game against the Columbus Blue Jackets?

The 19-year-old forward — who signed his entry-level contract with Boston on Wednesday — was at TD Garden on Saturday. But the former Boston College standout took in the game from the ninth floor, with Sturm announcing on Friday that Hagens would not play against Tampa.

“He just needs time and to get used to our system,” Sturm said Friday of Hagens. “That’s the biggest thing. I’m not going to throw that kid in and have him fail. I don’t want to do that. So he’s on the right track. That’s our next step and we will take it day by day and find the right time.”​

Based on Sturm’s comments after Saturday’s setback, it remains to be seen if Sunday in Columbus is the right time for Hagens to make his NHL debut.

“I don’t know,” Sturm said following the loss. “I’m just not there yet. I gotta look at some video today and decide tomorrow. And we’ll go from there.”

Even if the Bruins don’t necessarily want to throw Hagens into the fire right away, their options are limited now that the skilled forward signed his ELC.

Boston can no longer send him back to Providence, nor can the Bruins avoid burning the first year of that contract if Hagens plays under a certain number of games this spring.

Hagens is here to stay. And given the other options that Sturm has turned to in search of a scoring spark, it seems rather evident that Hagens deserves a look in short order.

On Saturday, the Bruins turned to Mikey Eyssimont as the latest player selected in Boston’s carousel of wingers for third-line duty.

Skating on a line with Fraser Minten and Marat Khusnutdinov, Eyssimont landed one shot on goal and recorded one takeaway over 10:50 of ice time. It was the lowest ice time among Bruins skaters.

“I liked them, actually,” Sturm said of Boston’s third line. “[Minten] had two Grade-A chances. “But overall they didn’t give up much, so I didn’t mind them.”

Even if the Bruins didn’t cough up a goal when the Eyssimont-Minten-Khusnutdinov line was out on the ice — generating offense remains the most pressing concern for Boston.

Expected growing pains aside, inserting a player with Hagens’ playmaking skills and 0-to-60 skating burst would offer a higher offensive upside at an area of the depth chart that could use a scoring boost.

And even if Hagens submitted a similar stat line as Eyssimont with under 11 minutes of ice time on Saturday, one could at least spin the positive that a future franchise fixture is at least getting his feet wet and acclimated to NHL hockey with only a few regular-season games to go.​

For now, the time is ticking for Hagens to get those valuable reps before the postseason begins.