After losing to the Tampa Bay Lightning, 2-1, at the TD Garden on Saturday afternoon, the Boston Bruins' playoff hopes shifted to the scoreboard for the rest of the day. They needed two results to go their way in regulation to punch their ticket back to the postseason.
The first result went their way when the Ottawa Senators beat the New York Islanders, 3-0. Then later in the afternoon, the New Jersey Devils rallied in the third period to punch Boston's and Ottawa's playoff ticket with a 5-3 win over the Detroit Red Wings. The only thing that changed was that the Senators jumped the Bruins for the first wild-card spot in the East.
THE POSTSEASON AWAITS 🙌 pic.twitter.com/Hd110C9VIt
— x - Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) April 11, 2026
Now that the ticket is punched and all that is left is seeding, let's rank who the Bruins would want to face and who the Bruins would least want to face beginning next weekend.
4. Carolina Hurricanes
The odds are stacking up as this is the first-round opponent for Marco Sturm's team. This would be a nightmare matchup. Carolina has speed and skill that would make it difficult for the Black and Gold to contend with during a seven-game series. Boston does not have the offensive firepower to match the Hurricanes' goal-for-goal. Not many teams do. This has the makings of a Carolina win in five games. That's being generous. A sweep is a real possibility.
3. Tampa Bay Lightning
Every year, there is always that one team that has someone's number. This year, it's the Lightning over the Bruins. Tampa Bay completed the season sweep of Boston on Saturday by rallying in the third period for a win. It was the second time in a week that the Black and Gold took a one-goal lead into the third period only to lose and be shut down. Beating Andrei Vasilevskiy four times in a seven-game series is not a recipe for lasting long in the postseason. See above for a series result. Same as Carolina.
2. Buffalo Sabres
What a story the Sabres are this year. Left hung out to dry in the first couple of months, they are closing in on locking up the Atlantic Division title. Boston is 3-1-0 against them this season, but two of those wins were early in the season when Buffalo was struggling. It's great for the NHL to have playoff hockey back in Western New York, and the Sabres are built for a deep run, unless the lack of experience gets in the way. Sturm's system could be frustrating for the Sabres over a seven-game series.
1. Montreal Canadiens
No, this isn't about Boston/Montreal and their heated rivalry; this is more about the Canadiens' goaltending being a question mark. Out of the four possibilities this spring for the Bruins, the Habs goaltending offers the biggest opportunity to crack in a seven-game series. Montreal can win a game in any fashion, but the Bruins went 2-1-1 vs. the Canadiens this season, and what a series this would be. Again, like Tampa Bay, this seems very unlikely. However, one can dream, right?