What’s at stake for Bruins in Tuesday’s season finale
For better or worse, the Bruins have indeed made Game 82 mean something.
Even after Monday came with some clarity for Jim Montgomery’s club.
In Washington with a chance to claim their second straight Atlantic title, the Bruins were stymied by a stiff, desperate Capitals club that limited them to just 16 shots by the night’s end. It was Boston’s lowest shot output in over 11 years. Elsewhere in the league, the Rangers handled their business against the Senators, wiping out Boston’s potential path to the top seed in the Eastern Conference even before the Black and Gold’s loss to the Capitals went final.
But the Bruins do remain firmly in control of their own destiny when it comes to Atlantic Division seeding, and the club is guaranteed to know their first-round dance partner when Tuesday’s head-to-head with the Senators goes final.
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A Boston win of any sort and the B’s will lock themselves into the No. 1 seed in the Atlantic Division. That’s because a win would give the Bruins 111 points on the year, and thus make it impossible for the second-place Panthers (108 points) to catch them. Montgomery’s club finishing in first place in the Atlantic would also lock the club into a first-round showdown with the Lightning, who are firmly in the first wild card in the Eastern Conference and cannot catch third-place Toronto.
The Bruins went 1-2-1 against the Lightning this season, but managed to break even with Tampa on the scoring front, with each team scoring 14 goals against the other.
But should the Bruins fall flat against the Senators, the door would be open for the Panthers to jump the Bruins for first place just before the horn sounds on the regular season, and Florida coach Paul Maurice outright admitted to reporters that his Tuesday night lineup against the Leafs would depend on what happened in the Boston-Washington game on Monday. And though that could mean that his team will rest its roster and accept a first-round date with the Maple Leafs, it’s also possible that he’s going to push his team to go for the division crown and lock up home ice through the first two rounds (at least) of the playoffs.
The formula for the Panthers to jump the Bruins in the standings is an equally simple one, too. A Bruins loss of any sort (regulation, overtime, or shootout) coupled with a Panthers win would give Florida the crown. In fact, if the Panthers manage to get a single point while the Bruins get none, a tie at 109 points apiece would go to Florida.
That’s because Florida holds the tiebreaker over the Bruins in the first tiebreaking procedure (regulation wins), with 41 regulation wins for the Cats compared to Boston’s 36 regulation wins.
The Bruins falling out of first place and into second in the division would lock the Bruins into a first-round showdown with the Maple Leafs. The Bruins went 4-0-0 against the Leafs this season, but there’s also no denying the firepower Toronto possesses, with the Leafs ranking third in goals for (292) this season, and first in five-on-five goals for (197).
From a Boston scope, it’ll be interesting to see just how the Bruins handle Game 82. Namely whether or not the club decides to give some of their top talents a night off and trust that their secondary options can lead the charge against a straight-up bad Ottawa club, or if the Bruins decide that they don’t want to take any chances and put themselves in the best spot to win the division.
3 Stars: Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman stands out in dud vs. Caps
Third Star: Charlie Lindgren
WASHINGTON, DC – APRIL 15: Goalie Charlie Lindgren #79 of the Washington Capitals tends the net against the Boston Bruins during the third period at Capital One Arena on April 15, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
Washington netminder Charlie Lindgren‘s season finale against the Bruins featured some light work, all things considered, as he had to turn aside just 16 shots in total for the shutout victory. Excluding early exits and relief appearances, the 16-save victory was Lindgren’s lightest workload in a winning effort this season, and earned him his second shutout against the Bruins this season.
Whether or not this was his own personal revenge for the Bruins trading his brother (and current Rangers defenseman) Ryan back in 2018, Lindgren became just the seventh goaltender to post multiple shutouts over the Bruins in the same season since 2005. The other goalies on that list: Montreal’s Cristobal Huet (2005-06) and Jaroslav Halak (2006-07), New York’s Henrik Lundqvist (2007-08), Washington’s Braden Holtby (2014-15), Minnesota’s Devan Dubnyk (2016-17), and Carolina’s Freddie Andersen (2021-22).
Second Star: Jeremy Swayman
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – JANUARY 11: Jeremy Swayman #1 of the Boston Bruins takes a break during a stop in play in the second period of a game against the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena on January 11, 2024. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Even in a loss, Monday felt like a step forward for the Bruins’ Jeremy Swayman.
Back in net after a 22-of-26 loss against the Hurricanes last week, Swayman responded with a strong 23-save outing, and took a hard-luck loss with just one goal against. And believe me, this one would’ve been a lot worse for the Black and Gold without the dialed-in performance of the 25-year-old Swayman.
#NHLBruins Jeremy Swayman flashes the pad to save a goal in the final seconds of the first period: pic.twitter.com/pUrAREOp73
— Jason Cooke (@cookejournalism) April 15, 2024Swayman, who at one point was borderline playing himself out of the Bruins committing themselves to a playoff rotation in goal, has now posted a .919 save percentage (91 saves on 99 shots) over his last four outings, and has allowed two goals or fewer in three of those four contests.
First Star: John Carlson
Apr 15, 2024; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Capitals defenseman John Carlson (74) celebrates with Capitals center Dylan Strome (17) after scoring a goal against the Boston Bruins at Capital One Arena. (Geoff Burke/USA TODAY Sports)
The only skater to beat a goaltender in this one, John Carlson put the Capitals on the board with the only goal needed early in this one, with his blast hammered by Swayman at the 12-minute mark of the opening period.
While Carlson’s goal had an awful lot to do with a miscommunication between Jake DeBrusk and Charlie Coyle, Carlson had the veteran know-how to dish the puck and then open himself back up for an even better look on Swayman.
In addition to the goal, Carlson added one block, one hit, and tallied four shots on goal.
