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Boston Bruins: 2020 was filled with its ups and downs for the Black and Gold

By Scott Roche

TORONTO, ONTARIO - AUGUST 31: The Boston Bruins react after their 3-2 loss during the second overtime period to lose Game Five of and the Eastern Conference Second Round to the Tampa Bay Lightning during the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena on August 31, 2020 in Toronto, Ontario. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ONTARIO - AUGUST 31: The Boston Bruins react after their 3-2 loss during the second overtime period to lose Game Five of and the Eastern Conference Second Round to the Tampa Bay Lightning during the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena on August 31, 2020 in Toronto, Ontario. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /
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TORONTO, ONTARIO – AUGUST 09: Staff members disinfect and clean the benches after an Eastern Conference Round Robin game between the Boston Bruins and the Washington Capitals during the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena on August 09, 2020 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Andre Ringuette/Freestyle Photo/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ONTARIO – AUGUST 09: Staff members disinfect and clean the benches after an Eastern Conference Round Robin game between the Boston Bruins and the Washington Capitals during the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena on August 09, 2020 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Andre Ringuette/Freestyle Photo/Getty Images) /

3. Coronavirus shutdown

On March 12, the NHL and the rest of the sports world, along with normal everyday living, was stopped in it’s track by the coronavirus breakout world wide.

At the time of the season pause, there was no telling what was going to happen next in terms of finishing the regular season or even the playoffs. In May, the league announced that the regular-season was over and they were going to have two bubbles with the Qualifying Round series for seeds 5-12, while the top four teams in each conference would play three Round Robin games each for seeding purposes in the playoffs.

At the time of the pause, the Bruins were playing their best hockey of the season, on pace to win the Presidents’ Trophy and home-ice advantage throughout the postseason. Now, the home-ice advantage doesn’t mean much (look at Game 7 in 2019 against the Blues), but it’s hard to argue that the Bruins were heavy favorites and had plenty of steamrolling toward the playoffs.

Two days prior to the pause, the Bruins went to the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia and snapped the Flyers’ nine-game winning streak with a 2-0 shutout behind 36 saves from Tuukka Rask. Little did anyone know that would be the last time we would see the Bruins for four and half more months.

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