After the Boston Bruins lost to the Toronto Maple Leafs, 4-2, at the TD Garden last Tuesday night, things were not looking great in terms of the Eastern Conference playoff race. They faced a brutal schedule with the Buffalo Sabres, Minnesota Wild, Columbus Blue Jackets, and the Dallas Stars all in six days.
If Marco Sturm's crew had split those points and gotten four, then they would have signed up for that. Keeping pace as best as they could. Instead, they went a perfect 4-0-0 in that stretch with an overtime win over the Sabres, a regulation win over the Wild, a shootout win over the Blue Jackets, and a regulation win over the Stars.
They rallied in the third period to beat Buffalo and Columbus and combined to outscore Minnesota and Dallas, 12-6, to win those games at home. In fact, they swept the top three teams in the Central Division, the Colorado Avalanche, the Wild, and the Stars at home this season. Anyway, the win over Dallas couldn't have come at a better time for the Black and Gold.
Bruins playoff chances spike northward after win over Stars
If the Bruins could have drawn up a perfect night on the scoreboard between the TD Garden and the out-of-town scoreboard, it was Tuesday night. Literally. The win moved them eight points clear of the Eastern Conference cut line for the postseason as they head out on a four-game road trip. The breathing room is needed.
Let's take a look at the out-of-town scoreboard from Tuesday night. The Columbus Blue Jackets, who hold the second and final wild-card spot in the East, lost to the Carolina Hurricanes, 5-2. Then, three teams sitting two points back of the Jackets with 86 points all lost and in regulation.
The Ottawa Senators allowed five first-period goals in a 6-3 loss to the Florida Panthers. The Philadelphia Flyers lost, 6-4, to the Washington Capitals. Finally, the Detroit Red Wings fell in regulation to the Pittsburgh Penguins, 5-1. Who would have predicted all of those results to go the way they did? Nobody behind them in the wild card race got even one point. Nobody.
The only bad news was the Montreal Canadiens beat the Tampa Bay Lightning, 4-1, to remain two points ahead of Boston with a game in hand in the race for third place in the Atlantic Division. Tuesday night was a perfect night on the scoreboard for the Black and Gold, and they moved one step closer to clinching a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. There is a tough road trip with work to do coming up, and until the playoff berth is clinched, there is going to be a lot of scoreboard watching going on. For the night, it was a perfect night.