Boston Bruins: It’s Time to Start Collecting Points on a Nightly Basis
By Scott Roche
As the calendar turns to April, so does the meat of the National Hockey League schedule for the Boston Bruins. With 24 games remaining, the Black and Gold sit in the fourth and final playoff spot in the East Division. They enter tonight’s game seven points behind the Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Islanders and nine points behind the first-place Washington Capitals.
Hot on the Bruins heals are the Philadelphia Flyers, just three points back, while the New York Rangers are five behind. By no means are the Bruins a lock for the playoffs, but one thing should be on their mind in their remaining 24 games, secure as many points as possible.
Are they going to catch the three teams ahead of them? Most likely not. Does home-ice advantage matter this season in the playoffs? Most likely not. However, what does matter is finishing in the top four and getting a berth in the postseason.
Playing the Penguins and Flyers in the next four games gives the Bruins a chance to close the gap on the Pens and get some separation from the Flyers. Boston is 3-1 against the Penguins this season, while incredibly, they have won all five games over the Flyers, with one coming in a shootout and another in overtime.
One look at the standings tells you all you need to know. While collecting two points each night is the preferred result, but one point adds up and it is always not the worst thing in the world.
Are the Bruins going to run the table against the Flyers? Highly unlikely, but hey, you never know. Getting to overtime is not a bad thing now as it secures at least one point.
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Boston has six games remaining with the last-place Buffalo Sabres. While there are 12 huge points there for the taking, as we saw last Saturday, getting those points are not guaranteed and won’t be easy. Beginning tonight against the Penguins, with the stretch run on for the postseason, it is now becoming about not a matter of how, but a matter of how many points are secured on a nightly basis.