The Boston Bruins know they’ve got their backs against the wall (and they know they put themselves there in the first place). With sixty-six games in the books, the Bruins are still holding on to a lead for the final wild card spot. At the moment, the B’s closest competitors are the Florida Panthers and they are six points back. Tonight’s 3-1 win over the Ottawa Senators pushes the Sens to seven point back behind the Black and Gold.
Lucic: "With 16 games left now, we know we're playing for our playoff lives. We want to do whatever we can to keep things rolling"
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) March 11, 2015
The Bruins have had a solid surge as of late. They’re 5-0-1 in their last six games. The Bruins are 6-2-2 in their last ten. Players that were expected to be background players have come up big for Boston as well. Daniel Paille has had a near re-birth with four goals in the last seven games. Ryan Spooner put in two goals against his hometown team tonight. Claude Julien’s Bruins have never been about dynamic individual efforts, but a team mentality. It’s great to see the peripheral members (and the Providence call-ups) make some noise for the Black and Gold.
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Tuukka Rask was sensational tonight for the Boston Bruins. He played one of his best games of the season, stopping thirty-nine of forty (.975) shots on net. Rask’s save percentage for the season is now .922, good enough to hang out at the back end of the best goaltenders in the league. The Bruins have had to work through one of their most injury laden seasons in recent memory. Even with all the roadblocks thrown in their path, the Bruins have recovered enough to (more-or-less) secure (at least) the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference. They’re just four points behind the Washington Capitals.
Puck Prose
While the Bruins should make the post-season, the final approach to the end of the regular season will not be a cake walk. The remainder of the March schedule will sorely test the Bruins as they try to maintain their place in the standings. They’ve got to take on the Senators next week. They’ve got two games against the Tampa Bay Lightning (and they’re playing for the top spot in the East). They’ve also got games against the New York Rangers, Anaheim Ducks, and the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Bruins are surging, and now they need to ride that wave into the playoffs.