Boston Bruins: The Road To The Playoffs And What It Entails
The California road trip did not go as planned for the Boston Bruins as they dropped all three games on the west coast. Despite losing these games, the Bruins currently sit in 3rd place in the Atlantic Division with 86 points. They are trailing the first-place Florida Panthers by three points and the second-place Tampa Bay Lightning by one. The Bruins also still own a three-point lead on the Detroit Red Wings who currently sit in fourth place in the division and hold the Eastern Conference’s final wild-card spot.
The Bruins cannot fall to the fourth spot where Detroit sits, as that team will have to face off with the number one seed in the Eastern Conference, which happens to be the Washington Capitals who currently lead the conference by a commanding 18 points.
The Bruins have nine games left on the regular season and will have the chance to control their own destiny. The key match-ups for the Bruins will be there games against the Panthers and the Red Wings. If you look at the remaining nine games for the B’s the schedule is relatively balanced with good and bad teams alike. They have three more divisional match-ups along with three match-ups against potential playoff teams. The other three games are against teams that have no shot to make the playoffs.
Five of the nine games are on the road with the other four being played at home at the TD Garden. The balance in the schedule should allow the Bruins to win more than half of the remaining games they will play. The key is to pick up as many points as possible going down the stretch to solidify playoff rankings.
"“Things aren’t going to get any easier,” Bruins coach Claude Julien said in an interview with NESN’s Jack Edwards and Andy Brickley after Saturday’s loss. “Everybody’s fighting for a spot. Everybody’s fighting to get into the playoffs and even better themselves going forward. We’ve got a tough road ahead of us, and if we play the way we did in the second and third period (Saturday), we’ll be able to manage that and manage it well.”"
Next: Bruins Unable To Take Home Points On California Trip
This Boston Bruins team has been sliding lately but after a good showing in a loss against the Kings on Saturday. This team looks poised to make a solid run to end off the regular season to gain momentum for the playoffs.