Let's forget about how the Boston Bruins' 2022-23 season ended for a second. Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci's last ride ended in heartbreak, but that 135-point regular season they put the fans through was some of the most fun times of the era. The TD Garden had a playoff atmosphere nightly, the team was blowing out their opponents regularly, and it felt almost inevitable that it was going to end in a Stanley Cup.
Well, it didn't, and that's not overly surprising, as sports have a way of evening out like that and going against the grain when people least expect it. That cruel reality is the reason why everyone loves to watch the world's greatest reality show, but it's also what can send fans home with a sense of disappointment for months and years after it happened.
No one can ever take that special record-breaking regular season away from the Bruins, that is, until one team comes along and breaks through the 135-point mark. However, there are a couple of reasons why this might be the unbreakable record.
The NHL's switch to an 84-game season
In case some fans aren't aware, there will be two extra games for each team on the NHL schedule this season, as the year starts a little early and gives teams a little more uniformity with their schedule since changing to 32 teams. Most people, and I would tend to lean that way as well now, would say that the Bruins' record is unbreakable as long as the league continues to play for more than 82 games.
Giving a team two extra games to accrue four extra points could be the difference in catching and passing the Bruins, which isn't completely fair since, given the way Boston was rolling that year, they likely would have gotten to 139 points with two extra games. If a team comes along and passes the Bruins by more than points in 84 games, we can have the discussion, but that feels unlikely.
If the Avalanche couldn't do it, who will?
It felt like the Bruins' record was about to fall last season with the Colorado Avalanche's hot start. They were tearing through the rest of the Western Conference, and it didn't look like they were going to lose nearly enough games to not break the record. A couple of injuries and the Olympic break derailed their momentum, but a 7-2-1 end to the regular season still only got them to 121 points.
Their finish showed how hard it is going to be to reach the Bruins' mark, but it also showed just how good Boston was that season. It was hard for fans to appreciate it in the moment, but consider what they watched Colorado do this past season and then understand the Bruins were a whopping 14 points better. It could take a long time for a team to bridge that gap and pass Boston in the record books.
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