by Bob Morello
Bruins heading into final week
The weekend saw the Bruins end their ten-game winless streak on Saturday with a solid 5-1 victory over the playoff-bound Carolina Hurricanes. Despite the win, the locals were mathematically eliminated from playoff contention, marking a first time DNQ in nine years (2016). On Sunday, with the Buffalo Sabres riding a three-game win streak, the Bruins jumped out to a quick lead, only to have the Sabres rally back, proving they were the better team, with a 6-3 win. The loss left the Bruins holding up the Atlantic Division in last place with 71 points. The upside has Boston holding onto a spot in the list of top five teams for the draft pick lottery, with four games remaining. Taking a few positives out of weekend play would have, David Pastrnak’s total eight-point grab for those last two games, where he notched his 40th goal of the season, while running his point total to 97 points in 98 games. Morgan Geekie netted his 29th goal during a five-point night (Saturday), and his 51st point put him in the second spot behind Pasta, as the team’s point leaders. Jeremy Swayman had a solid game in net on Saturday, to mark his 100th career win, and his first victory since March 11. Interim coach Joe Sacco put together a line of Pastrnak/Elias Lindholm/Geekie which proved to be very interesting, as the trio was productive, highlighted by Lindholm scoring a goal in three games straight, bringing his season total to 16.
As of press time today (Tuesday), the playoff brackets in the Eastern Conference have: Toronto, Tampa, Florida, Washington, Carolina, New Jersey, with wild cards – Ottawa and Montreal. The Western Conference bracket would contain: Winnipeg, Dallas, Colorado, Vegas, Los Angeles, Edmonton, with wild card holders St. Louis and Minnesota. Ironically, the West list could have two former Bruins coaches in the playoffs, and the East presently has the Ottawa Senators with former Bs goaltender Linus Ullmark as their backstopper. The Bruins have four games remaining in the regular season, beginning with tonight’s (Tuesday) game in New Jersey, to go head-to-head with the Devils who are riding a three-game win streak. Thursday will have the Chicago Blackhawks visiting TD Garden for a 7:00pm game – Chicago currently holds the second spot in the lottery draft with 54 points, and the San Jose Sharks’ 50 points in the number one slot. Boston will travel to Pittsburgh to on Sunday, to be hosted by the Penguins (3:30pm), the Pens are also out of a playoff spot, and they have not been playing at their customary pace, showing a mediocre record of 4-4-2 for their last ten games. The regular season will close out with the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday (7:00pm) on TD Garden ice. Then it will be time for TD Garden to shut off the power, melt the ice, and finally put an end to this disappointing 2024-25 cursed season.
Congratulations to Washington Capitals superstar Alex Ovechkin, on his record-setting goal number 895, passing Wayne Gretzky’s 894 total goals scored, to earn the top spot in the NHL Record Book.