The 2025-26 season for the Boston Bruins will go down as a resounding success, no matter how their playoff journey goes.
Bruins General Manager Don Sweeney agreed with that sentiment, heaping praise upon his players and Head Coach Marco Sturm.
"We're proud of where we are," Sweeney said Thursday inside Warrior Ice Arena. But, we have a lot of work to do, and we're excited about the challenge."
Sweeney began his presser with a simple thank-you and a hat tip to everyone involved in the Bruins organization for getting back to the playoffs.
"It takes everyone," Sweeney said.
Sweeney pointed to the efforts of the medical staff, with the injuries Boston dealt with in the front half of the season. He pointed to Sturm, praising how Sturm dealt with the six-game losing streak in October.
Sweeney thanked the fans, saying they played a big role in the team's 29-11-1 record inside TD Garden this season.
Then, he fielded questions on the team. Sweeney discussed the pressure on the city to get the team back into the playoffs, especially with the buzz around the Red Sox and Patriots since last Spring.
“We just felt the core of our group, if we could do our jobs as a staff, and bring in [some help] make us more competitive and put a structure in place, that we would be competitive and be knocking on the door," Sweeney said Thursday.
"We're a playoff group. We want to win, we want to be in position to win, and now we have a chance to do that.”
That's where Boston finds itself now. Knocking on the door, a first-round matchup with the Buffalo Sabres is on tap.
The series kicks off on Sunday, with the official start time still TBD, but social media sleuths have deduced the probable start time is 7 o'clock on the East Coast.
The rest of the round one schedule will be unveiled later Thursday night.