The Boston Bruins are returning to the Stanley Cup playoffs. Okay so maybe that’s not official yet but with 95 points banked and four games remaining, the math suggests the Bruins could clinch their spot as early as Tuesday. After posting a 10-3-3 record in the month of March, Boston has created some serious separation from the rest of the Eastern teams vying for a wild card position. The Bruins are currently holding down the first wild card spot with the Senators in the second position but trailing by five points. According to Moneypuck.com, that gives the Bruins a 98% chance of securing a playoff berth. The surprising Bruins are proving the “experts” wrong this season, and I am here for it! My prediction was a 7th -10th place finish and anyway that you slice it, this is still a reset season in Boston. A seventh-place finish will still slightly surprise even THIS expert. Haha.
Not all is peachy though as the Bruins struggled in the first week of April. What has been a challenging road trip is reflected in their 0-2-1 record. Luckily for them, teams like Ottawa, Columbus, the Islanders and Red Wings have also had trouble finding consistency. That has allowed Boston to remain in control of their destiny.
Coming off a 2-1 OT loss in Philadelphia Sunday, coach Marco Sturm found the positives in what was the Bruins 3rd game in 4 nights on the road.
“A huge point for us,” Sturm said. “Guys battled back. We wanted to have a power-play goal in the third and we did. ‘Korpi’ made some great saves. Unfortunate there in OT, but we’ll definitely take that point.”
Absolutely they will. With 78 games now played, Boston will play their remaining games over a nine-day span. The focus for the B’s will be reigniting a suddenly stagnant offense. The Bruins have only scored a troubling three goals over their last three games. In what was predicted to be the team’s biggest hurdle, now is not the time for scoring to become an issue. Only the second line of Pavel Zacha, Viktor Arvidsson and Casey Mittelstadt continues to produce with regularity. And given that they’re also matching up against opponents’ top lines, the Bruins are asking a lot if they need them to be both the teams scoring and shutdown line.
Speaking of Pavel Zacha, he was named the NHL’s third star of the month last week after posting 13-9-22 in March. A career best month for the Czech native. In what has been a stellar season for Zacha, I shudder to think where the Bruins would be without him. Perhaps missing the Olympic winter games with injury was the best-case scenario for both team and player. On the flip side of that, however, is Morgan Geekie. He is marred in a terrible goal scoring streak and is now goalless in seventeen games. The 34-goal scorer is crucial to Boston’s offense and will certainly need to find his form as the playoffs approach.
Then there’s James Hagens. The Bruins top prospect and 7th overall pick in last year’s draft recently signed an amateur trying agreement with the Providence Bruins. Many will debate whether having Hagens play in the AHL for now and not burning a year on his ELC to come straight to Boston is the right decision. However, Sweeney has remained consistent with prospect development as David Pastrnak, Charlie McAvoy and Jeremy Swayman all put in time with the baby B’s before permanently graduating to the big club. One thing is for sure though, Boston could use Hagens’ offensive abilities. His speed and skill would be a welcome addition to the team’s offensive struggles though counting on the nineteen-year-old to add significantly might be asking too much at this point in time. Given the fact that Providence is enjoying a 50-win season and is poised to go deep in pursuit of the Calder Cup, Hagens may in fact be exactly where he needs to be. It’s something worth monitoring as the NHL season enters its final ten days.
The Lookahead
Four games to go. The road trip concludes Tuesday in Carolina vs maybe the league’s stingiest defense. The weekend features another back-to-back first hosting Tampa on Saturday followed by a trip to Columbus. The Bruins end their regular season the following Tuesday with a home game against New Jersey. After that, it’s playoff time!
G-Rant @TheRealG_Rant/Grant Cumming. Bruins fan. Bigger dreams, bigger screens, bigger feelings are planned.
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