Boston’s trademark stingy defense has turned into a sieve — sapping the Bruins of arguably their steadiest foundation in an unstable campaign.

In Joe Sacco’s first month in charge of the Bruins, they appeared to find a defensive identity. Over the past month, however, Boston’s defensive structure has completely collapsed. It’s the biggest reason this team is heading for a retool.

One of Swayman’s most notable characteristics is his complete and utter confidence, the surety he has in himself and his place in hockey. It’s something that has been the subject of countless conversations, including those he’s had with defenseman Brandon Carlo, a sounding board on the team.

When Joe Sacco changed goalies heading into the third period and the Bruins down three in Wednesday’s 5-1 loss, the natural assumption was that Boston’s interim head coach was resting Jeremy Swayman to give himself the option to start him again at home on Thursday.

In a season where little has seemingly gone right for the Bruins, Jeremy Swayman is showing signs of turning a corner.

The Boston Bruins entered Wednesday night's game against the New Jersey Devils having won three of their last four games, helping to erase some of the bad feelings that stemmed from having previously

SUNRISE, Fla. — In the final seconds of overtime, after Sam Bennett was called for high-sticking Charlie McAvoy, David Pastrnak intended to send a cross-seam puck for Elias Lindholm to one-time. Pastrnak did not complete the pass. Execution was not atop the Boston Bruins’ list of accomplishments on Saturday against the Florida Panthers.

The two teams met over the weekend when the Bruins lost the lead in the final minutes of regulation and then the game in a shootout.

Dawson Mercer scored twice during New Jersey’s four-goal second period, and the Devils beat the Boston Bruins 5-1 on Wednesday night. Nico Hischier had a goal and two assists, Dougie Hamilton had a goal and an assist,

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Dawson Mercer scored twice during New Jersey’s four-goal second period, and the Devils beat the Boston Bruins 5-1 on Wednesday night.