Unexpected Rise: Sitting Atop the Atlantic Division, With Plenty to Be Thankful For
Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and it’s a time of giving thanks. For the 2025-26 Boston Bruins, there is plenty to be thankful for. To be sitting at the top of the Atlantic Division this time of year was unexpected, but how they got this far is what’s to be thankful for.
What to Be Thankful For
Morgan Geekie
It is nice to see a player get the opportunity that they deserve and see them shine with it. When the Bruins signed Morgan Geekie to his first contract (two years, $4 million), the goal was to give him more opportunity. In his final season with the Seattle Kraken (2022-23), Geekie was averaging 10:27 of total time on ice. A player with his skill set deserves more opportunity, and he’s gotten that with the Bruins.
Geekie thrived in his first season with the Bruins, scoring 17 goals and 39 points. While he wasn’t a top-line player, he became the perfect complementary piece. Until now. Geekie has now become a focal point of the Bruins’ relentless attack, as he was the first 30-goal scorer not named David Pastrnak since the 2022-23 season to help give the Bruins a boost last season. The questions you began to ask yourself were, “Was it a fluke year?” or “Is this the start of something special?” Needless to say, it’s the start of something special.
Geekie has been stellar for the Bruins once again and is proving that the 2024-25 breakout was no fluke. He has scored 17 goals this season and is on pace for 58. Most notably, he is scoring them in different ways. Whether it’s a one-timer on the power play or a deflection from standing in front of the net, Geekie is lighting the lamp.
Since Jan. 1, 2025, Geekie has scored the most goals in the NHL (42) and is currently tied with Nathan MacKinnon for the league lead. The Bruins have needed a running mate behind Pastrnak, and they finally have one in Geekie.
Special Teams Improvement
The Bruins are not the strongest team during five-on-five play. They have a Corsi for percentage and expected goals for percentage below 50%. However, they’ve found themselves competitive within games. A lot of that can be attributed to their elevated special teams play from a season ago.
The 2024-25 season was horrendous for special teams play. Their power play ranked 29th (15.2% success rate), and the penalty kill 24th (76.3% success rate). If you aren’t going to be a strong five-on-five team, elevating special teams play is a must. Hiring Steve Spott to run the power play was a home run decision for the Bruins. He previously worked with the Dallas Stars, and that’s a team that had a top ten power play for the three seasons he was running it.
The Bruins have seen their power play become a factor. It is not as predictable as last season, and there is plenty of movement when they have the man advantage. They are more mobile, creative, and have that firepower to capitalize. This season, the Bruins’ power play ranks fourth in the league with a 25.6% success rate. That’s already 10% better than a season ago.
The Bruins have also spent the most time on the penalty kill (156:19). With their defensive structure, they’ve been stellar on the penalty kill and sees them ranked 11th in the league (83% success rate).
The Bruins have been a delight to watch, and their special teams play has been a huge reason for that.
Marco Sturm and His Accountability
Newly hired head coach Marco Sturm is the perfect coach for this team. The one thing that he has been known for is accountability. Whether you’re a veteran, have a letter on your sweater, or are a rookie, you are held to the same standard. If you aren’t on the bus, it’ll be made clear.
Sturm has never been a coach to throw his players under the bus. Instead, he’s openly critical of their play and wants them to be better and excel within his system. He was critical of forward Casey Mittelstadt, who sat out for a game after a poor showing against the Colorado Avalanche on Oct. 18. Mittelstadt responded and popped off for seven points in nine games before being out with an injury. Sturm has also not been shy to bench the top line, either, and has been critical of defenseman Mason Lohrei.
“That’s the goal: Having him [Lohrei] out there and be a little bit different when he comes back,” Sturm admitted. “Watching from upstairs, watching some other players and what they do well and what they do wrong. It’s a learning process for him right now, and that’s why we do it.”
Lohrei sat upstairs for five games, and sitting paid dividends with four points in four games. It’s just comforting to see Sturm demand the best out of his players, and the team has collectively bought into the system and what they are trying to accomplish. It’s a 360-degree shift from last season, where they looked lost with no identity.
Plenty to Be Thankful For
Bruins fans will always be thankful for Pastrnak and goaltender Jeremy Swayman. Geekie has been a blessing, and his dynamic scoring presence was needed in a major way. The Bruins’ special teams coming through has helped them win games and make them a tough out every night. General manager Don Sweeney nailed the hiring of Sturm, and the team is reaping the benefits because of it.
Ben Roethlisberger Questions Mike Tomlin’s Decision to Punt in Critical Moment Against Bears
The Pittsburgh Steelers have been catching a lot of heat after their Week 12 loss to the Chicago Bears. Most of that has been directed at Head Coach Mike Tomlin for many baffling decisions he made during the week and in the contest. Fans, media, and even a couple of his own players have publicly called him out for one of the most poorly coached games of the 2025 season.
Former quarterback Ben Roethlisberger also had some issues with Tomlin in that game. On his podcast, Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger, he made sure to talk about the head coach's decision to punt instead of going for a fourth and nine as the two-minute warning was approaching.
"In Coach [Mike Tomlin]'s postgame press conference, he said something along the lines of, 'We have three timeouts and we're looking for a stop, and we get the ball back.' My thought is: if that's the case... why not take a chance on fourth down?" Roethlisberger asked. "You keep your timeouts, and you keep going. If you don't get it, you still have your timeouts and you're trying to stop them anyway... If you're counting on a three and out, does it matter where on the field you're counting on a three and out?"
Roethlisberger definitely has a point there. The situation was not ideal, as the Steelers had a fourth and nine at their own 23-yard line with 2:01 left in the game. However, the offense would have to find a way to drive down the field either way. It's argued that it would be easier to get the fourth down conversion and drive down the field than punt it, get the punt back, and have a drive with less time and no timeouts.
The only reason to punt it there is because the Bears would have been in field goal position had the Steelers not gotten the fourth down conversion. If that happened, Pittsburgh would have needed a touchdown drive with no timeouts. Either way, a first down would mean the Bears win, so why not try to get nine yards and keep all of your timeouts to have the best chance of winning? On the flip side, the Steelers did in fact get the ball back, so the gamble worked out. Unfortunately for the Steelers, they weren't able to score on their last drive of the game or even get into field goal range to tie.
Many people accuse Tomlin of living in his fears, and this is a prime example. He clearly has more faith in his defense to stop the Bears' electric offense on three plays than he does his offense of getting nine yards in a single play. All that punt really did was make life harder on the offense, as they had to drive downfield with no timeouts, and they clearly could not do that.
Steelers Might've Lived In Their Fears On Final Drive
The play calls after the Steelers got the ball back were even more of a problem. Pittsburgh had the ball on its own 49-yard line with a first and 10. Every single play called was arguably a short-yard quick-hitter, including the one on fourth and six. Predictably, it did not work, and the Bears won anyway.
Kicker Chris Boswell is statistically one of the most reliable kickers in NFL history. He made a 60-yard field goal earlier in the season, and the Steelers were very close to his range. In fact, they could have tried a field goal from 65 yards on that fourth and six. They theoretically could have also ran a play over the middle on an earlier down to gain a lot of yards, spike it to stop the clock, and give Boswell an easier attempt.
