Boston Bruins
“We’re glad we got the win the other night, and we have a chance to redeem ourselves in front of our crowd.”
The Bruins have lost five straight playoff games at TD Garden. (Matthew J. Lee/Globe Staff)
May 1, 2026 | 12:25 PM
4 minutes to read
Nikita Zadorov is no stranger to being on the receiving end of a bevy of boos whenever he has the puck on his stick in an opposing rink.
He heard those jeers throughout Boston’s Game 5 overtime win over the Sabres in Buffalo — just a game removed from cross-checking and later punching Buffalo captain Rasmus Dahlin during a stoppage.
“There’s probably like five rinks in the league that boo me every time I touch the puck. So nothing new for me … I mean, it’s funny,” Zadorov said of the icy reception in Buffalo on Thursday. “It means you do something [that] people hate, and that’s my job, I guess.”
Unfortunately for Zadorov and the Bruins, those boos have also carried over to Causeway Street this spring.
And for good reason.
The last time the Bruins took to the ice at TD Garden, whatever pregame fervor emanated from a sea of black and gold quickly gave way to the incessant drone of groans and expletives hurled onto the ice.
By the end of Boston’s 6-1 blowout loss in Game 4, the only sound reverberating around an emptying Garden were the cheers and taunts from a hefty contingent of Sabres fans — relishing in their divisional foes’ latest faceplant.
Boos here at TD Garden after that first period comes to an end.
Don’t think I’ve ever seen a worse 20 minutes from the Bruins on home ice – especially in the playoffs.
Embarrassing start for Boston.
4-0 Buffalo. pic.twitter.com/dGQnKrrI3x
— Conor Ryan (@ConorRyan_93) April 26, 2026
“It was an embarrassing effort in Game 4,” Zadorov said. “That’s not what our fans paid money for, to come in like that and see us play that way. So we’re glad we got the win the other night, and we have a chance to redeem ourselves in front of our crowd, for sure.”
Redemption — and outright survival — are fresh on the minds of the Bruins as they return to Boston for Game 6 on Friday night.
But beyond the expected pushback they’ll receive from a talented Buffalo squad looking to snuff out a Boston rally back from a 3-1 series deficit, the Bruins will also need to grapple with a home barn that has served as a house of horrors for years now in the postseason.
Entering Friday’s Game 6, the Bruins have lost five straight playoff games on home ice — the longest postseason losing skid at home since a seven-game slide from 1994 to 1996.
Since the start of the ill-fated 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Boston is just 3-10 in their own building during high-stakes hockey.
It’s been a confounding development for Marco Sturm and this current Bruins squad – a group that posted the second-best home record in the NHL (points percentage-wise) this season at 29-11-1 (.720).
“It shouldn’t,” Sturm said when asked if playing at home can hinder a team in the playoffs. “It should elevate your game. So [Friday] — we’re against the wall. So I see it — home or away — I see it more like, ‘Okay, we have to bring our A game.’ Otherwise, we go home, right?
“So we’re going to approach it that way. It’s a one-game mission again, and we can’t celebrate our away game. It’s all about [Friday], and I don’t really care if it’s at home or away. It’s nice to come home again, especially after what happened in Game 4. But other than that, I’m going to treat it that way, that this is a must-win.”
The best way for the Bruins to avoid letting doubt and nerves seep into their crowd on Friday is rooted in a fast start.
As much as Sturm’s club would love to fire a few pucks past projected Buffalo starter Alex Lyon in the opening minutes of game action, a quick start revolves around Boston getting to its game on the forecheck.
An already raucous Garden would receive another adrenaline shot off the opening puck drop if Boston’s forecheckers land a few welts on their initial O-zone shifts — led by the Bruins’ crop of heat-seeking missiles in Mark Kastelic and Tanner Jeannot.
“We want to have a good start and try to get on the board early,” Kastelic said. “It’s unpredictable out there, and I think the biggest thing is we try to stay patient in the room and not try to force anything or rush anything.”
Another sharp performance in net from Jeremy Swayman will once again be needed in hopes of stymying Buffalo’s high-octane offense.
But much like in Game 5, the Bruins’ top forward in David Pastrnak will once again be counted on to elevate an offense that has lit the lamp four times in its last three games.
“Just be loud, please, and be patient,” Pastrnak said of the message to Bruins fans after Game 5. “We’re gonna shoot the puck, don’t worry.”
Ramping up the shot volume and mucking things up down low in search of rebounds and tips will be paramount against a netminder in Lyon who has largely operated on cruise control from extended stretches of this series.
Sturm’s latest lineup reshuffle on Tuesday also led to an uptick in O-zone possession for Pastrnak and Boston’s top line.
In the 16:12 of 5-on-5 ice time that a reworked forward grouping of Pastrnak, Pavel Zacha, and Marat Khusnutdinov were out on the ice in Game 5, Boston held a 20-11 edge in shot attempts, a 10-3 advantage in shots on goal, and generated six high-danger scoring chances.
Despite Boston’s extended track record of struggles in the postseason at TD Garden, Zadorov believes this current roster has much more to give — and a lot to prove — after Sunday’s letdown.
“We’re just going to take a step back and look at why we were so successful during the season at home, what drove us, why we were so excited to play in front of our fans, and how we play with swagger, and just bring it [Friday],” Zadorov said. “This is a confident group in here.
“We’ve been so good at home for the whole year, playing in front of our crowd. It’s definitely exciting. I think it’s gonna be different [Friday].”
Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.
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