You read it here first. Bruins in six. I predicted that outcome only two short weeks ago. Unfortunately for me and all Bruins fans, I picked the wrong team to advance in those six games. Here’s a slice of humble pie after a convincing series win by the Buffalo Sabres. Maybe I should hold off on predictions moving forward since every time I throw one out the B’s find a way to prove me wrong! Let’s not rehash the 2025 Stanley Cup final prediction, shall we? The Bruins finished 27th overall after I did that. Oof. The season is over for the Bruins and with it the offseason questions begin. Here’s a look at the series and what went wrong with the underdog Bruins.
Statistically, Boston was not going to be favored in any playoff matchup this post season. Finishing in the first wild card spot basically assured them of that. Though the team did exceed expectations by finishing with 100 points, goaltending and limited scoring can only take you so far. In this case, there were six games.
“That’s why it’s so good to make the playoffs,” Head Coach Marco Sturm said after the Bruins were eliminated Friday night. “It feels s— right now. I know. But it’s good for those kids. Even for David (Pastrnak) and someone like that. It’s so good to go through games like that. Because it’s just going to help you as a player, as an individual, as a group, to move forward. And you have to fail.” Some positive takeaways from Sturm and what choice does he have? Buffalo’s speed and skill was on display throughout the series, and it was evident early on that Boston was going to have a hard matching that. “You just learn from it,” Sturm said of the growing pains. “You get better. You’re getting more comfortable. Look at our lineup. There’s some guys that have never been through it. They’ve got to experience it first. I can’t expect them to be the difference already. No. It’s not fair.”
In the end, however, the Bruins players themselves were clearly upset by the defeat. They believed that their goaltending, timely scoring, and physical play would be enough to beat the Sabres. Sounds like my prediction! Ultimately, they came up short. “There’s a reason they won the division,” Pastrnak said. “Lot of skill and speed over there. Their D is very active offensively. They were better.”
“You expect more of yourself.” Nikita Zadorov said. “We only had high expectations in here about each other, ane we pushed each other. But also it’s a step forward year for us. Nobody put us in the conversation in the summer. Nobody put us in the conversation in the season. We surprised a lot of people. We could have won the series. But we didn’t.” The truth is the better team won and the series played itself out as it should have.
Speaking on break up day, the hulking defenseman revealed he had torn his MCL in Game 3. “Torn off the bone.” Viktor Arvidsson also announced that he missed games 5 and 6 due to a broken rib and punctured lung. Attrition takes its toll on any team in the post season, and the Bruins were no exception. “We squeezed every drop out of this group,” said Charlie McAvoy. “Surprised a lot of people. We made it here. It’s not what we wanted. We thought once we got here, we could make some noise. Just didn’t play like it.” McAvoy will have an in-person hearing for his two-handed stick foul on Sabres forward Zach Benson. McAvoy was furious after Benson slew footed the Dman into the boards late in game 6. McAvoy could miss all of Boston’s preseason and some regular season games for the retaliation. Unpopular opinion; I didn’t hate what McAvoy did. Benson knew exactly what he was doing with the game well out of reach for the Bruins. The Bruins defenseman had a rough season in general with a broken jaw suffered in November, followed by what was revealed as a broken hand in game 2 vs Buffalo.
What is most concerning for the Bruins is that they lost 3 of their four losses at home. TD Garden was a safe place for the Bruins this season as they finished with the second-best home record in the NHL behind only Colorado. Boston lost by scores of 3-1, 6-1 and 4-1 on home ice. Three total goals in three home games are not only a problem, but you aren’t going to scare opponents from coming into your building with results like that. “Our system is created for us to play the same way as a unit of five all the time,” Zadorov said. “At home, we got away from that a little bit. I’m not sure of the reason why. Maybe it’s getting a little too tight. Or it’s a little bit more freedom because you get different changes. I feel like on the road, we were the team we wanted to be.”
“No one really thought we would be in the midst of the playoffs,” Sturm said. “Forget about the playoffs, right? Look at us, 100-point season and battled really hard until the end. I just wanted them to know how proud I am. But also now we got a little taste. Sweens (GM Don Sweeney) said it a couple months ago. We still have work to do.”
More work to do for Sweeney, Sturm and their mix of veterans and youth for sure. It feels like that has already begun.
The Lookahead
The offseason arrives fast for the Bruins as the NHL draft lottery will take place on Tuesday, May 5th. Boston not only has their own pick in the mix for lottery success but can retrieve the Toronto Maple Leafs 1st round pick if the lottery knocks them out of the top 5. The pick, acquired along with Fraser Minton for Brandon Carlo last year, would otherwise be moved to Boston in either 2027 or 2028 depending on conditions previously set. Next up from me will be a Bruins season in review article so keep your eyes peeled for that!
G-Rant @TheRealG_Rant/Grant Cumming. Bruins fan. Bigger dreams, bigger screens, bigger feelings are planned.
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