The Bruins are officially going back to the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
And after falling to the Lightning in what could’ve been a “win and in” game for the Bruins, the B’s let someone else do the dirty work to make it official. And that scoreboard watching actually (and finally) paid off, as losses by both the Islanders and Red Wings were enough to lock the Bruins into a playoff spot.
Detroit’s loss to the Devils, which saw N.J. take the lead with just under four minutes remaining in regulation, was the final piece of the puzzle needed for the Bruins.
Detroit’s failure to get a point in that game made it impossible for them to catch the Bruins in points, with Boston sitting at 96 points and with Detroit currently at 91 points with just two games to play in their season.
Currently sitting in the second wild card in the East, the Bruins can move no higher than the top wild card spot. In this playoff format, the top wild card seed will play the ‘worse’ division winner in either the Atlantic or Metropolitan, while the second wild card will draw the conference’s best club in the first round.
The Bruins, for what it’s worth, are currently projected to play the Hurricanes in round one. But that could obviously change depending on how things finish with the Canes, Lightning, Canadiens, and Atlantic-leading Sabres.
The B’s will wrap up their regular season with a Sunday tilt in Columbus and then a Tuesday night home-ice finale against the Devils.
