Every night, Boston Bruins fans looked at the Eastern Conference standings and wished that the black and gold were actually on the West Coast of the United States. While the Pacific Division is a "pillow fight" as Connor McDavid described it on Saturday night, the Bruins have the second-best points percentage in the league since New Year's Eve and cannot get any separation in the playoff race.
The Bruins needed just one time in the Eastern Conference to start to falter if they were going to get a cushion in the race, and it finally came from the New York Islanders. While the Bruins won their biggest game of the year against the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday night, the Islanders were blown out on Hockey Night in Canada at the hands of the Montreal Canadiens. It gave the Bruins a three-point lead on the Islanders in the wild card race and a two-point lead over the Red Wings.
The Bruins are now closer to stealing the third spot in the Atlantic Division and nearly as close to tying the Tampa Bay Lightning in points for second as they are to falling out of the playoff race altogether. There are still some teams surging behind the Islanders, but the situation that played out on Saturday night dramatically increased the Bruins' chances of making the postseason.
Are the Islanders on the ropes?
The Islanders look like a team on the ropes, which helped the Bruins avoid the red-hot Columbus Blue Jackets. While some fans had worries about the Blue Jackets in the rearview mirror, it was becoming clear that the Bruins weren't going to have to worry about them at all if they started climbing the Metropolitan Division standings. It turned out that for all the work Columbus did to get into the wildcard, they bypassed it completely and went straight to third in the Metro.
The Bruins aren't out of the woods yet. After playing the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday night, Boston's schedule includes five of its next six games against playoff teams, and with the way those teams have been playing lately, legitimate Stanley Cup contenders. The Bruins have the toughest remaining schedule, which means the Islanders' demise and subsequent playoff cushion came at the best possible time.