Boston Bruins Clinch; Is This Their Last Chance?

The Boston Bruins are back in the playoffs; they entered Saturday's action needing only one point to clinch, and they ended up getting two with their 2-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins. For the Bruins, it has been a season of questions, inconsistency, and uncertainty, especially when it comes to their chances of winning another Stanley Cup. It was in 2011 that the Bruins won a seven-game Stanley Cup Final over the Vancouver Canucks, but with every season that has passed, that Cup becomes more and more of a distant memory. The Bruins made two additional Cup Final appearances in 2013 and 2019, but even the latter year's appearance was seen as an aberration, with some saying that the Toronto Maple Leafs should have defeated them in Round 1 that year.

Each of the last two seasons have seen the Bruins out in Round 2. The 2020 bubble saw the Bruins defeated by the eventual Stanley Cup Champions, the Tampa Bay Lightning, and in 2021, the Bruins were ousted by the New York Islanders. This year, the Bruins have been up and down because of their aging core, and the severe lack of Tuukka Rask, whose return this season was short-lived and definitely not reminiscent of the Rask of old. Rask retired during this season, but the Bruins have marched on, and now find themselves in the playoffs for the sixth straight season.

Amazing how many things center on the number 3: The Three Musketeers, The Three Wise Men, 3 feet in a yard, Three Coins in the Fountain, and of course, The Three Stooges. In the case of the Bruins, it's that hallowed trio known as The Perfection Line: Brad Marchand at left wing, Patrice Bergeron at center, and David Pastrnak at right wing. This is a well functioning trio, and that's an understatement. To no surprise, the Perfection Line is leading the way for the Bruins: Marchand has 73 points (31 G/42 A), Pastrnak has 71 points (38 G/33 A), and Bergeron has 56 points (20 G/36 A). Even better, they are equal contributors; Marchand leads in points and assists, Pastrnak leads in goals, and Bergeron leads in shorthanded points (3).

The Perfection Line serves as the biggest positive on the Bruins. But here's the thing: they're the one thing keeping this team afloat. I remember as recently as 2019, the Colorado Avalanche were labelled as a "one-line team," and that offended me as an Avs fan. In regards to that label, I said, "Those who call the Avalanche a one-line team, haven't seen the Bruins." Plain and simple, if Marchand, Bergeron, and Pastrnak don't get their points, the Bruins are in trouble. Taylor Hall (55) and Charlie McAvoy (52) are the only non-Perfection Line players with 50+ points this season. McAvoy's 52 points lead Boston blueliners, and his 44 assists lead the team overall, but he has eight goals. That won't do it.

Boston's 3.08 goals per game is middle of the pack; 14th in the league. Their power play is also middle of the pack; 13th in the league with a percentage of 21.6. Boston's penalty kill is much better, as their 82.3 percentage is eighth in the league, and they've scored five shorthanded goals. Out of Boston's five shorties, the Perfection Line has only scored two--both belonging to Marchand.

Even before Rask's retirement, the Bruins were preparing for life after their Vezina winning goalie. They already had Jeremy Swayman in net beforehand, but they would go all in and acquire Linus Ullmark from the Buffalo Sabres. How have they fared so far this season? Ullmark is 23-10-2 with a 2.57 GAA and a .912 SV%. Swayman is 21-12-3 with a 2.34 GAA, a .917 SV%, and three shutouts. The efforts of Ullmark and Swayman have resulted in the Bruins being in the top five in GAA: their 2.70 tally is tied with the New York Islanders for fourth in the league.

So in regards to goaltending, statistics say they're fine. Elsewhere, there are questions. The main one involves their overall chances at the Cup: is this Boston's last chance? With the way the Bruins have been playing, it looks like it could be. If this playoff appearance doesn't result in (at least) a long run, we may see Boston's window closed for a good bit. A lot of key players are getting up in age, and the Atlantic Division has become immensely contentious. The Florida Panthers are in powerhouse mode, as are the Toronto Maple Leafs, and we all know about the Tampa Bay Lightning. With the way things are going, those three could rule the Atlantic for years to come, and that would leave Boston to either settle for a Wild Card, or just be left out altogether. This season is truly do or die for the Boston Bruins.

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Feel free to check out my story about Tuukka Rask below!