Boston Bruins: Still in the Postseason (but barely)
It’s starting to look ugly for the Boston Bruins. The B’s gave themselves multiple opportunities to take home big wins against the Buffalo Sabres, Ottawa Senators, the Florida Panthers, and the Tampa Bay Lightning. Instead of getting eight points and securing themselves a playoff berth, they went 0-2-2 against their last four opponents. While they’re still in the eighth seed, they’ve got a one point lead against an opponent that now has two games in hand against them.
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“It’s a really fun time of year. These are the type of games you want to be in,” said Milan Lucic about this time of the year. “You want to raise your level of play to show what kind of character you have as an individual, and as a team. It’s up to us to rise to the occasion in moments like this. I know [the Senators] have a game in hand, but it means nothing unless they win it.”
It hasn’t been much fun for the Boston Bruins. This team usually shows exceptional levels of character in the final quarter of the regular seasons. This year has been an ugly exception. The Bruins have shown the lapses in judgment you’d expect to see from the Edmonton Oilers, and some cringe worthy defensive breakdowns. The Bruins had the tools to make it work against the Lightning, but lost because the players were a little too tired, and a little too sloppy. At the moment, the Bruins chances of making the post-season are under forty percent.
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“We have to fight to play our best, and bring our best, if we want to make the playoffs.” – Milan Lucic on the Bruins final games of the season
“We lost some big games, but I still think we control our destiny,” said Kelly. “We have nine games left. If we go out and play well for these nine games, then good things will happen. We’ve got a good group here and I feel confident in our group.”
This is the time of year where teams have already forged their own destinies. For the last few years, the Bruins have worked hard and blazed a path for themselves to have a comfortable spot in the post-season. This year, the Bruins will have to do more than their best in their last nine games. They’re going to need help. Not from each other, and not from the fans. They’re going to have to rely on other teams giving up the ghost for them to make the postseason this year.
This has certainly been the roughest year for the Black and Gold in the Peter Chiarelli era. It’s also been the roughest for the Bruins bench boss, Claude Julien. The Bruins front office will likely be making some tough choices for the club in the offseason.
For the moment, the Bruins are still heading to the playoffs. Hopefully, they can hang on long enough and keep their postseason streak going.