Boston Bruins flirting with historic losing streak as NHL Draft lottery odds improve
The 2025 season keeps going from bad to worse for the Boston Bruins. The team has been in an absolute tailspin since its deadline day fire sale, and is now flirting with team history after Thursday night's loss to the Montreal Canadiens.
But it's not the kind of team history anyone wants to be associated with. This year's Bruins are just one loss away from tying the franchise record for its longest losing streak, and are two straight defeats from owning the record.
While losing as many games as it can may be best for the franchise in the end, it's not making it any easier to watch the team close out a lost campaign. Boston hasn't technically been eliminated from the playoffs just yet, but it's been clear for a while the team isn't going to make the postseason for the first time since 2016.
Bruins losing streak hits 10 games
Boston's losing streak is at double digits after a 4-1 loss to the Canadiens in Montreal. While Jeremy Swayman had a decent night in net, the Bruins offense couldn't generate much of anything in the Thursday night defeat.
This is the first 10-game losing streak by the Bruins since the 2009-10 season. But that previous streak spanned from January into February, and Claude Julian's team turned it on late in the season and made it to the Eastern Conference semifinals, where they famously blew a 3-0 lead to the Philadelphia Flyers.
This year's club won't have a chance to blow a playoff lead, but it will have a chance to set some franchise history. A loss Saturday against the Carolina Hurricanes at TD Garden would tie the Bruins' longest losing streak ever, matching an epic skid from a century ago when the 1924-25 Boston Bruins lost 11 straight.
Lose Saturday, and follow it up with a loss to the Sabres in Buffalo on Tuesday, and this year's Bruins will set a new franchise record with a dozen straight loses.
It's been difficult to watch Joe Sacco's Bruins lose game after game after game, especially while Jim Montgomery has led the St. Louis Blues to 11 straight wins. But there could be a silver lining from it all.
Boston Bruins in the NHL Draft lottery
It's been a while since ping pong balls mattered for the Boston Bruins, but the team is now in the running for a top five pick in this summer's NHL Draft. Boston currently has a 69 points with six games to play, which is fourth-worst in the NHL. The team currently holds the No. 4 pick, but has a 44.6 percent chance at the fifth overall selection this summer and a 9.5 percent chance at jumping up to first or second, according to Tankathon. They'll likely pick fourth, fifth, or if they're really lucky, first on June 27.
(You can also spend some time on Tankathon's draft lottery simulator trying to get Boston into the top spot; it only took me 23 clicks of the mouse.)
A top-five pick would be huge for Boston, with a number of intriguing center prosects available this year. Sweden's Anton Frondell, Caleb Desnoyers of the Moncton Wildcats in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League, or Boston College's James Hagen. The Bruins sorely need a young pivot, and would likely land a talented one with a top five pick.
The Bruins should be able to do some damage later in the draft too thanks to their deadline day sell-off. Don Sweeney added a pair of 2025 second-round picks to his collection through his trades, as well as a 2026 first-round pick and a 2027 conditional second-round pick. Boston could potentially add a lot of talent in the years to come, or use those assets to move up and around the 2025 draft board.
While the losses have been tough to watch in the present, a few more defeats to close out the regular season could fast track a much-needed rebuild in Boston.
