The Boston Bruins lost 3-1 to the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday night, but their 20-15-0 record still puts them in third place in the Atlantic Division, which is better than anyone could have hoped for entering the season. A big reason for the team’s success is the job of first-year head coach Marco Sturm.
After firing Jim Montgomery early in the 2024-25 season and replacing interim head coach Joe Sacco, the B’s turned to their former player Sturm to help get the team back on track. Expectations haven’t been very high this season, but Sturm has managed to get the best out of his team on a nightly basis.
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Sturm spent four and a half seasons in Boston as a player, so he knows what it takes to succeed in this frenetic sports environment. Throughout the season, Sturm revealed that he has been preaching to his players about how special the opportunity to represent the B-Team is.
“That’s the beauty of Boston,” Sturm said in an interview with NESN’s Andy Brickley and Sophia Jurksztowicz. “When things don’t go well, they let you know, I know, I’ve been there. But when you show effort, when you show hard work, people appreciate that.”
There’s obviously more to Sturm’s coaching system, but appreciating the team you play for is a key part of building a culture. Sturm has done just that, and the results so far are hard to argue with.
Boston still isn’t perfect, as evidenced by the loss to Edmonton, but they’ll have a chance to get back in the winning column Saturday night against the Vancouver Canucks. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.
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Why Bruins are ‘very pleased’ with performance despite loss to Oilers