When the Boston Bruins rallied on the road two weeks ago to pick up a road win against the Detroit Red Wings, it felt like it would be a win that carried momentum into a difficult part of their schedule to close out the month of March. That wasn't the case, for one game anyway.
Three nights after that win, they returned to the TD Garden and laid an egg in a 4-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs. It was a game that they needed to win with a daunting four-game, six-day stretch that included games against the Buffalo Sabres, Minnesota Wild, Columbus Blue Jackets, and Dallas Stars on the horizon.
The Bruins went to Western New York one night later and rallied to beat Buffalo, 4-3, in overtime. They then took down the Wild, 6-3, at home. On a tough back-to-back, Boston entered the third period in Columbus on Sunday night down 3-0, only to rally with three goals to tie the game and win it in a shootout on a Viktor Arvidsson goal.
Then came Tuesday night. Playing Dallas at home, the Bruins put together a defensive masterclass, holding the Stars to just 16 shots on net over 60 minutes, and used four third-period goals to win, 6-3. Four games, eight points, and all of a sudden, the Black and Gold are eight points clear of the Eastern Conference playoff cut line. After the win on Tuesday night, head coach Marco Sturm said what no Eastern Conference playoff team wanted to hear.
Bruins coach Marco Sturm said what no Eastern Conference playoff team wants to hear
The Bruins hit the road for a four-game road trip, and if they take care of business, they will likely find themselves in the postseason. If they get in, they're going to be a team. Nobody wants to play. The recent streak is giving them confidence, something that might not be good news for the rest of the East.
"I don't know when it started, but the Minny game, even the Columbus game, the Detroit game, those were big, big games,'' said Sturm. "Different, but they were all big. And we won. I think that, really, guys are believing in themselves, and they know we’re a good, solid team when we’re on top of it. So yeah, the belief is there right now.
“The guys are rolling right now. They almost don’t even need me anymore.”
That's not true; they do need Sturm. Boston might not win a first-round series, assuming they get in, but they can make life miserable for someone over a seven-game series. Let's put it this way: the top seeds are not licking their chops at the prospect of playing the Boston Bruins and their system in the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.