As the Bruins get set to host the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday afternoon, a new rising star is preparing to make his mark for Boston.
Former Boston College center James Hagens, the No. 7 overall draft pick in 2025, was recalled from AHL affiliate Providence after signing his entry-level contract Wednesday. He joined Boston (43-26-10, 96 points) for back-to-back practices in anticipation of a potential NHL debut.
Hagens will not play Saturday. With the second half of a back-to-back set for Sunday at the Columbus Blue Jackets, however, his debut could be imminent.
“My job is to do the right thing for this team, but also I want to protect this kid,” Bruins coach Marco Sturm said on Thursday. “It’s not fair sometimes, either to throw players in situations where they can’t handle it or maybe they’re not ready.”
On Friday, Sturm added, “He just needs time to get used to our system. … He’s on the right track.”
Hagens joined the Bruins as they have been idle since Tuesday’s 6-5 overtime loss at Carolina. It was their fourth straight defeat (0-2-2) since a four-game win streak, so the 19-year-old could prove to be a needed spark.
“It’s pure excitement. Walking in here right away, being able to meet everybody,” Hagens said. “These are guys that are role models for you, people that you look up to, and now you’re sitting in a stall next to all of them. So, it’s pretty surreal.”
Morgan Geekie broke a 17-game goal drought with a Tuesday hat trick, but Sturm’s team has been searching for answers lately. The power play is 1-for-9 over the past four games, while Jeremy Swayman is on a three-game winless streak after allowing five goals and being pulled in favor of Joonas Korpisalo against the Hurricanes.
“I feel like the energy was there, the legs were there, but it’s a tough, tough road trip. I’m a little bit frustrated,” forward David Pastrnak said. “We go home and we are still in an amazing spot that no one thought (we’d be in).”
After Sunday in Columbus, the Bruins round out the regular season with a Tuesday visit from the New Jersey Devils.
Tampa Bay (48-25-6, 102 points) has secured its playoff position for the ninth straight season but dropped a third straight game — a 2-1 Thursday loss to the Montreal Canadiens, who took over second place in the Atlantic Division standings. The Lightning’s skid started after last Saturday’s 3-1 win against Boston.
“Listen, we’ve got more wins than losses this year, and we’re still in a playoff spot,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. “We’re just probably not playing like the playoff team right now. Just turn the page and move on.”
The Lightning settled for Darren Raddysh’s game-tying goal with 1:51 left in regulation, as Montreal netted another go-ahead tally less than a minute later and won a game in which it went 0-for-7 on the power play. The teams combined for 126 penalty minutes.
“That’s a playoff-type game,” forward Corey Perry said. “You never know, we might meet these guys in a couple weeks. We did some good things, and we battled.”
The same could be said of the Bruins, whom the Lightning are 3-0-0 against this season. In last week’s meeting, Raddysh netted the game-winner with 5:31 left.
Raddysh’s 22 goals are the most by a defenseman in franchise history, while he is only the second Lightning blueliner ever to reach 70 points.
Cooper’s team — which was 1-4-2 through its first seven games — is familiar with this position and knows its role as the “second season” nears.
“This group is a special group. It’s a great group in the sense of role definition,” he said last week. “Everyone knows what they’re doing. Everyone knows what they need to do for us to succeed.”
