Bruins officially punch ticket to 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs

With a comeback win Saturday against the Red Wings and then a little help from the Capitals against the Islanders later in the night, the Bruins have officially punched their ticket to the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The fastest team to 50 wins in league history thanks to Saturday’s 3-2 victory, which came in the B’s 64th game of the 2022-23 season, the Bruins are obviously the first team to qualify for the postseason this season.

• Boston’s path to a playoff berth took just 64 games, which is the third-fastest in any 82-game season in NHL history, trailing only the 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings (59 games) and 1998-99 Dallas Stars (63 games).

  That Red Wings team, which went on to set the single-season wins record (62 wins, since matched by the 2018-19 Tampa Bay Lightning), would ultimately come up short in the third round. That Stars team, meanwhile, went on to win the 1999 Stanley Cup in a six-game Stanley Cup Final against the Buffalo Sabres.

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  BOSTON, MA – JUNE 7: Fans celebrate in the third period in Game Five of the Second Round of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the New York Islanders at TD Garden on June 7, 2021 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)

• With a playoff berth settled, the Bruins can turn their attention to both getting some much-needed rest for some of their veteran players and making a push to lock up the No. 1 seed through the playoffs.

  The latter is of obvious importance given the Bruins’ home-ice dominance this year — Jim Montgomery’s Bruins are a staggering 27-3-3 at TD Garden this season — and it’s more than attainable while resting guys, as the Bruins have an 11-point edge over the Carolina Hurricanes for the top seed in the Eastern Conference.

  The Bruins also need to win 13 of their final 18 games of the regular season to a set a new single-season wins record. That is not of major importance to the Bruins, they’ll admit, as the Bruins want to make sure that they’re fully rested and as healthy as can be for the 2023 postseason.

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  Feb 14, 2023; Dallas, Texas, USA; The Boston Bruins celebrate after right wing David Pastrnak (88) scores the game winning goal against the Dallas Stars during the overtime period at the American Airlines Center. (Jerome Miron/USA TODAY Sports)

• According to the Bruins, tickets to all rounds of the 2023 Bruins playoffs presented by Rapid7, at TD Garden will go on sale Sunday, March 12 at 3 p.m.

  Single game suites for all rounds of the Playoffs at TD Garden will also go on sale at that time.

  Individual tickets will be available for purchase on BostonBruins.com/Playoffs and on the Bruins mobile app.

  Single game suite rentals will be available that accommodate from 18-60 fans. For more information visit BostonBruins.com/PlayoffSuites.

  Prior to the public on-sale on Sunday, March 12 at 3 p.m., fans can get presale access by signing up at BostonBruins.com/Playoffs. Bruins and TD Garden clients and subscribers will have first access during the playoff ticket presale. More information about the presale will be communicated to those clients and subscribers within the next 24 hours.