Bruins Need Someone to Step Up in Order to Win Game 6 – The Hockey Writers –

After going down 3 – 1 in their first round series against the Buffalo Sabres, the Boston Bruins survived to see another day after a thrilling overtime victory in Game 5 on the back of a gorgeous David Pastrnak goal. Now they return to Boston for Game 6 where they once again face elimination. 

The Bruins are the underdog in this series and were not even expected to make the playoffs coming into the 2025-26 season. Making it to Game 6 against the top team from the Atlantic Division is a solid accomplishment and just making it to the playoffs this season is a great sign that this team is building in the correct direction. 

But nobody wants consolation prizes right now, so if the Bruins are to emerge victorious in Game 6 and force a Game 7, they are going to need someone to step up and be the X-factor like Pastrnak did with his overtime goal in Game 5.

The Series So Far

The Boston Bruins have been a streaky team throughout the 2025-26 season and that has continued into the playoffs. Despite their loss in Game 1, they overall played decent and then bounced back from the loss to play great in Game 2. Game 3 was frustrating highlighted by Jeremy Swayman’s great performance in net and Game 4 was one of the worst performances the team has had all season. Luckily, they were able to rebound in Game 5. 

So far, the Bruins have gotten goals from a lot of the usual suspects. Pastrnak leads the team with two goals and six points. Morgan Geekie, the team’s top goal scorer from the regular season, also has two goals along with Elias Lindholm and Viktor Arvidsson. Pavel Zacha, who was easily the best player on the team in the post-Olympics stretch, has a goal and an assist for two points. Fourth-liners Sean Kuraly and Tanner Jeannot have each scored a goal, and defensemen Charlie McAvoy and Jonathan Aspirot both have two assists.  

The Bruins are getting contributions from up and down the lineup, along with solid goaltending from Swayman, who was just named a Vezina Trophy finalist. Overall, they have matched up well against the Sabres, and when necessary, head coach Marco Sturm has taken risks in the series, making line changes that paid off when their backs were against the wall in Game 5.

But, as it has been all season, the Bruins continue to make things difficult for themselves with mistakes and undisciplined play. The team made glaring missteps in the first period of Game 4 that put them down 4 – 0 before the first intermission. The Sabres are a young, talented, and hungry team with an aggressive forecheck. They are going to take advantage of forced and unforced errors, and there have been a lot of those. Boston had 10 credited giveaways in the first period of Game 4, 17 overall by the time the time of the final horn. No team can win a game when they’re giving it away that often.

While the Bruins redeemed themselves in Game 5, they are going to need someone to step up big time to force this series to a Game 7. The question now though, who will it be?

Who Will be the X-Factor?

Pastrnak and Swayman have been the easy MVPs of the series so far. In Game 3, Swayman kept the game close for a lot longer than it should have been. Pastrnak is obviously leading the team in points and had the overtime winner in Game 5 to keep them alive. 

But will someone else step up and be the hero in Game 6? If it weren’t for his injury, Arvidsson would be a good one to bet on with his two goals in the series so far. Unfortunately, he is likely out for the next game with an upper body injury he got in Game 4. I’ve also previously written about how I think Fraser Minten and Hampus Lindholm could be difference-makers in this series, and both of them are solid options to have a big game coming up. 

But if I had to pick one person who I think will step up and be the x-factor the Bruins need, I’d go with Geekie. As mentioned, he’s had a decent series so far, and is currently second on the team in points this postseason with four. He’s been good, but as he’s shown throughout the season, he can be truly elite and I don’t think we’ve seen his best yet so far in the playoffs. 

After signing an extension with Boston last season for six-years, worth $33 million, Geekie hit career highs in points, 68, and goals, 39. As mentioned, he led the team in goals, registering nine more than Zacha, who was second, and 10 more than Pastrnak, who was third. He and Arvidsson were tied for the most game-winning goals with six each, and of all the guys who played in the majority of the games this season, he had the second highest shooting percentage, 21.5%

Points and scoring are obviously not the only measures of success in the NHL, but no team can win without goals. Yes, the Bruins need the entire roster to step up their defense and stop giving the puck away. But if they are going to win Game 6, they need to score, and who else to look to then the guy who has proven to be one of the best at it all season?  

Elimination games in the playoffs are the exact times when a team needs their top players to show why they are the top players. Pastrnak did it in Game 5, now it is Geekie’s turn to do it in Game 6.

Which Bruins Team Will Take the Ice in Game 6?

As mentioned, it has been the tale of two teams all season when it comes to the Bruins. As Game 6 draws closer, the question that everyone is asking is which Bruins team will take the ice tomorrow night? This team is more than capable of winning, but will we be seeing the team that played in Game 4, a game that everyone in the locker room called an embarrassment, or the team that showcased resilience when they bounced back from losses to put together solid wins in Games 2 and 5? Only time will tell. 

Game 6 will take place in Boston on Friday, May 1 at 7:30 PM ET. If necessary, Game 7 will be back in Buffalo on Sunday, May 3. Make sure to stay tuned with The Hockey Writers for news and updates throughout the postseason and offseason.