Boston Bruins News: Playoffs Still Possible
The Boston Bruins found themselves within a hair’s breath of elimination today. Then John Tavares, Johnny Boychuk, Jaroslav Halak, and the rest of the New York Islanders did the Bruins organization a real favor. They thoroughly trounced the floundering Penguins 3-1 this evening.
So, with the final game of the season looming for the Black and Gold, there is still a chance that the Bruins can clinch the eighth and final spot in the Eastern Conference tomorrow night. No, I’m serious. So, let’s get every last bit of positive energy Bruins Nation has left in it and throw it at Zdeno Chara and company as they fight for their playoff lives against ateam they can beat.
The Tampa Bay Lightning.
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The Bruins organization is certainly not happy with their current situation. There has already been sniping between members of the Bruins front office over exactly who is the blame for the Bruins current predicament. Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli stressed that there was plenty of blame to go around for the Black and Gold’s current troubles.
“We put ourselves in this position, and I consider it a failure and it’s a failure on everybody’s part,” said a very tired looking Peter Chiarelli to the media in Tampa earlier today. “But being a failure doesn’t mean there has to be a complete overhaul of everything. Guys fail, teams fail and they get back on their horse. ”
“So, again, I consider it a failure, but you don’t always succeed in this business, you don’t always hit the ball out of the park all the time, and you’ve got to get back and do your job and we’ve shown we can do that. But you know, right now, it’s pretty disappointing.”
If the Bruins win, it doesn’t guarantee them a shot in the big dance though. They will still need a little help and a little hope to see their eighth straight post-season.
The Bruins will need the Pittsburgh Penguins to lose against the Buffalo Sabres. Now before you roll your eyes and discount the possibility out of hand, remember that the dilapidated Sabres were able to hand the Montreal Canadiens their heads. They were able to beat the likely Vezina Trophy winner, Carey Price.
Let’s also be thankful that Marc-Andre Fleury is playing traditional post-season hockey for the Penguins. He’s playing sub .900 games with the Pens’ playoff hopes on the line. It’s not entirely out of the realm of possibility that the Sabres organization does one more classy act for the city of Boston and knocks the Penguins out of the post-season for us.
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The other major option is that the Ottawa Senators get stonewalled by the Philadelphia Flyers. This is another scenario that could happen. The Flyers like to crash the net frequently and often (a lesson to be re-taught to the Bruins in the off-season). As good as Andrew Hammond is, he is capable of giving up goals when a team finds the right spot and drills pucks home.
So, here we are. Eighty two games of the season, and everything depends on the last game. The Bruins have an 18.9% chance of making the post-season now. The Bruins know they HAVE to win.
For some players, this will be their last game in a Bruins uniform. For others, it will be their chance to prove they belong on the roster next year. For a few, it will be their chance at some serious redemption in the eyes of the fans. Finally, the Bruins front office knows that jobs and reputations are on the line tomorrow night.