The Bruins are making the playoffs. WIth 17 games to go, they’re currently tied for third in the Atlantic Division and in sole possession of first place in the Eastern Conference wild-card race with 87 points.
Two wild cards get in. Even if Washington (second wild card with 84 points and 15 games to go) passed Boston. Another team would also have to. The Columbus Blue Jackets are currently third in the Eastern Conference wild-card race with 69 points and have 16 games remaining. They’d have to be almost perfect and have the Bruins suffer an epic collapse. It’s not happening.
The goal for Boston now is to get out of the wild card altogether and avoid facing locomotives Florida or Carolina in the first round.
Here’s where things stand:
Playoff Format
Things are back to normal this year. The top three teams in each division make the playoffs and the two teams with the next best records in each conference will be wild cards completing the 16-team field.
From NHL.Com
In the First Round, the division winner with the best record in each conference will be matched against the wild card with the lesser record; the wild card with the better record will play the other division winner.
The teams finishing second and third in each division will meet in the First Round within the bracket headed by their respective division winner. First-round winners within each bracket play one another in the Second Round to determine the four participants in the Conference Finals.
Home-ice advantage through the first two rounds goes to the team that placed higher in the regular-season standings. In the Conference Final and Stanley Cup Final, home-ice advantage goes to the team that had the better regular-season record, regardless of the teams’ final standing in their respective divisions.
Bruins Record: 41-19-5 – 87 points — which has them tied for third in the East. All four of the top four Atlantic Division teams have played exactly 65 games. The Bruins are three points ahead of Washington in the wild card race and have two games in hand.
Atlantic Division Standings:
……………………GP—W-L-OT—Pts
Florida………….65—44-15-6–94
Tampa Bay……65—41-18-6—88
Toronto………..65—41-19-5—87
Boston…………65—41-19-5—87
Wild Card Standings:
……………………GP—W-L-OT—Pts
Boston…………65—41-19-5—87
Washington….67—37-20-10-84
Monday’s scoreboard watching for Bruins: Carolina at Washington
Bruins Games remaining: 17
Who They’re Chasing: The Panthers are six points ahead of Tampa and seven ahead of Boston and Toronto and will be hard to catch.
After that, it’s a free-for-all to determine which two teams out of Boston, Tampa and Toronto finish second and third in the Atlantic and who’ll be a wild card. The Maple Leafs visit TD Garden Tuesday.
Chased by: Washington is just three points back of the Bruins in the Wild Card, but the Capitals have played two more games.
Bruins Games Remaining: 17
March 29 vs. Toronto
March 31 vs. New Jersey
April 2 vs. Columbus
April 4 at Columbus
April 5 at Detroit
April 8 at Tampa Bay
April 10 at Washington
April 12 vs. St. Louis
April 14 vs. Ottawa
April 16 vs. Pittsburgh
April 19 at St. Louis
April 21 at Pittsburgh
April 23 vs. New York Rangers
April 24 at Montreal
April 26 vs. Florida
April 28 vs. Buffalo
April 29 at Toronto
If the NHL playoffs started today:
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Florida vs. Washington
Carolina vs. Boston
Tampa Bay vs. Toronto
Pittsburgh vs. New York Rangers
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Calgary vs. St. Louis
Los Angeles vs. Edmonton
Colorado vs. Vegas
Minnesota vs. Nashville
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