With 16 games remaining in the 56-game shortened regular season, the push for the playoffs is on and it’s been on for a while for the Boston Bruins. Currently, the Black and Gold hold a four-point over the New York Rangers for the fourth and final East Division playoff berth.
With less than a month left in the season, the Bruins begin a critical stretch with their three home games. Beginning tonight, the Bruins play back-to-back games with the New York Islanders and then a Sunday afternoon matinee against the division-leading Washington Capitals. Three games against the top two teams, while during that time, the Rangers play three games against the New Jersey Devils.
If the Bruins fail to collect any points in the next three games, there’s a good chance they’ll be looking up at the Rangers in the standings by Sunday night. Chasing points in the standings is the last thing you want to be doing late in the season.
Yes, Boston does have two games in hand on the Rangers and the two teams have two more games this season at the TD Garden, but to take advantage of the games in hand in the standings, you need to win them or it’s irrelevant.
Points are going to be hard to come by for the Bruins in the next three games.
If the Bruins are going to get into the postseason, there’s a very good chance that either the Isles or the Caps would be their first-round opponent. With that said, points have been hard to come by for Boston against the Islanders this season. Literally.
The Islanders won all four of the contests on Long Island this season, including three of the four in regulation. Boston claimed just one point in Uniondale early in the season. Things did not get better during the Isles one trip to Boston last month when the B’s blew a lead and lost in overtime. The Black and Gold are 0-3-2 this season against Barry Trotz’s group.
Since the two teams last met, the Islanders have upgraded their roster in a trade with the New Jersey Devils that landed them Bruins killer Kyle Palmieri and Travis Zajac.
The Bruins have fared a little better against the Capitals, but the lasting memory of last Sunday night’s 8-1 blowout loss is tough to forget. Boston is 3-2-1 against Washington this season, but like the Isles, the Caps got better at the trade deadline since Sunday night when they added Anthony Mantha from the Detroit Red Wings. They also acquired Michael Raffl from the Philadelphia Flyers.
Boston has also made a pair of trades, getting Taylor Hall and Curtis Lazar from the Buffalo Sabres and Mike Reilly from the Ottawa Senators. With each game that goes by, Boston is hoping that the new players will adjust to their new teammates and their play will get better.
With that said, this is going to be a key three games in four days for the Bruins in the race for the playoffs. Boston heads to Buffalo for three games next week with the Sabres, but as we saw Tuesday night, those games aren’t a given. Time for Bruce Cassidy’s crew to keep their heads above water in the next three games at home.