If you ask most Boston Bruins fans which team had it all but failed to live up to the expectations, the answer since 2023 is easy. If it isn't the team that broke all the regular season records, then who else would it be? However, before the 2022-23 Bruins, a group of players coming off both triumph and heartbreak fell a little short, leading to a changed-up core and a mini-rebuild.
The Bruins had their hearts broken in 2010 when they blew the 3-0 series lead to the Philadelphia Flyers, before bouncing back in the best way possible by winning the Stanley Cup in 2011. 2012 had plenty of optimism as well, but a first-round exit to the Washington Capitals showed that the championship hangover may have been too debilitating to overcome.
2013 was a bit of different scenario, as that team battled through and made it all the way to Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final before two goals in the final 74 seconds put an end to their dreams of forcing a Game 7. While it hurt in the moment, that disaster motivated the team to come back even stronger in the 2013-14 season, and the Bruins were an absolute buzzsaw for the entire regular season.
The 2013-14 Bruins were the original 2022-23 group
The Bruins led the way for most of the season, winning the Presidents' Trophy with 117 points. They finished eight points ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins for first in the Eastern Conference and ran over the Detroit Red Wings 4-1 in the first round. The triumph set them up for another playoff date with the rival Montreal Canadiens in the second round.
It was a back-and-forth series, with the Canadiens taking the first game and then both teams alternating wins. With the Bruins having a chance to win the series in Game 6 at the Bell Centre, the Canadiens came out with a 4-0 domination, the likes of which we hadn't seen any team do to the Bruins that entire season. It was the moment where fans finally had doubts about how the season was going to end.
Game 7 looked exactly like a team with a lot of hockey under their belts over the past four years facing a young, energized team in the Canadiens, led by players like PK Subban and Carey Price. The New York Rangers offered a tough test in the following round, as they defeated the Habs, and with the way the Bruins finished out that playoffs, it was hard to see them making it another two rounds.
In a common theme that would continue for the next decade, the Bruins' offense dried up in the playoffs. David Krejci and Brad Marchand both failed to score a goal, combining for nine points over the 12 games, and Torey Krug was actually the team's leading scorer. Not even Tuukka Rask's 1.99 goals-against average and .928 save percentage could save the aging roster.
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