Boston Bruins Win, Montreal Canadiens Eliminated From Postseason
The Boston Bruins notched their 40th win of the season last night beating the Toronto Maple Leafs, 3-1. This crucial win helped give the Bruins a three-point cushion over the Detroit Red Wings(who were blown out by the Pittsburgh Penguins in a 7-2 drubbing) for the final automatic playoff spot in the Atlantic Division. With just six games to go, the Bruins find themselves back in control of their own destiny.
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“We knew it was going to turn around eventually, but it had to be quickly,” said Bruins alternate captain Patrice Bergeron said after last night’s win. Bergeron netted his 29th goal of the season as part of the B’s win. “And we’re happy it was today.”
“We were playing the way we want to play, and I think it was about just believing in ourselves a lot more and trusting our instincts.”
The Bruins instincts were to play defensive minded hockey and to limit Toronto’s speed. Playing according to those instincts is what got the Bruins two second period goals to take the lead back from a desperate Toronto team. The Bruins spent most of their 60 minutes playing playoff hockey, and it was something the team needed to do to get back their confidence in the final weeks of the regular season.
“Tonight, we had 20 leaders on the ice,” said David Krejci of the Bruins win. “It was just good to see. Guys were blocking shots. The first period was maybe a little bit nervous, but we came back in the second and third and you could see that we wanted to win — play with the puck, be on our toes and it was 20 leaders and just a great effort by everyone.”
The Bruins win now gives them 88 points. The chances of the Bruins making the post season have jumped back up as well. The Black and Gold now have an 86.3% chance of making the playoffs. While that’s good news, the fact the Montreal Canadiens were mathematically eliminated from the postseason made Bruins fans smile just a little more.
Perhaps the @HockeyGods just wanted a Bruins win to coincide with Montreal's mathematical elimination from the postseason.
— Andrew E Thompson (@Godwentwhoops) March 27, 2016
The Bruins still aren’t out of the woods. With only six games left, the Bruins haven’t locked up a playoff berth yet. They’ll need to play their last six games with conviction if they want to avoid last season’s fate. The Bruins know they’ve still got to cross that finish line.
“You look at what happened today — Detroit loses, so this is an opportunity for us to gain some points and it was an important game for us for that reason,” said Head Coach Claude Julien of the team’s effort. “So, you know, whether it’s relief or satisfaction, happy that we got a win under our belt. That first one is always the toughest, so hopefully we build on that and we bring our game to New Jersey next game.”