The Boston Bruins can taste the playoffs.
A wild card spot, at a minimum, is there for the taking for the B’s, after they won both games of a tough back-to-back weekend slate. It was a tale of two games: they controlled the majority of the action in a complete 60-minute effort against the Minnesota Wild, then followed that up by overcoming an ugly first period and 3-0 deficit to force overtime and snatch the extra point away from the Columbus Blue Jackets. In totality, the B’s picked up three points of ground on the Jackets, who went 0-1-1 in their own back-to-back.
It’s still Boston and Columbus in the first two wild card seeds, but after a massive pair of wins over the weekend, the Bruins are in the driver’s seat over the competition for their spot. Entering Monday, they hold a four-point lead over the Blue Jackets with the same amount of games remaining, and a six-point lead over the Senators, Red Wings, and Flyers, who all have a game in hand. And the analytics are firmly on the Bruins’ side: according to MoneyPuck.com and HockeyStats.com, their playoff odds are now 90.9% and 89%, respectively. And Columbus even has a harder remaining schedule, based on the data at Tankathon, while Philly and Ottawa aren’t far behind.
Of the five wild card contenders, the Red Wings have easily the easiest remaining schedule, but the lowest odds to make the playoffs. In fact, the Sens have slightly better odds than the Blue Jackets entering Monday’s action, despite being on the outside looking in at the moment.
After their three-game win streak, the Bruins are sitting pretty. We’re at the point that if they don’t make the playoffs, it’ll count as a disappointment and missed opportunity. They still have some tough opponents left on the schedule, with the Dallas Stars up next on Tuesday night. They also play the Tampa Bay Lightning twice, have one more showdown with the Jackets, and also have the Hurricanes and Flyers in the mix. Despite having a little breathing room in the standings, the pressure’s still on for the Bruins to take care of business over the next couple of weeks.
Matt, a North Andover, Massachusetts native, has been with The Sports Hub since 2010. Growing up the son of Boston University All-American and Melrose High School hall-of-fame hockey player Steve Dolloff, sports was always a part of his life. After attending Northeastern University, Matt focused his love of sports on writing, extensively writing about all four major Boston teams. He also is a co-host of the Sports Hub Underground podcast and is a regular on-air contributor on the Sports Hub. Matt writes about all New England sports from Patriots football to Boston Celtics and Boston Bruins.