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After two months of pomp and circumstance in an unbalanced Atlantic that they have dominated from the jump this year, what’s left of the Bruins officially punched their ticket to the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs on Wednesday with a 2-1 overtime loss to the Blues.
“It’s step one,… Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy said of clinching “Going into the season we wanted to make the playoffs, be a Stanley Cup contender. At some point, hopefully you’re a Stanley Cup favorite. But right now, we got in, so we’re going to be a contender, right?…
Out to a one-goal in the first period thanks to Ryan Donato’s second goal in as many NHL games -- a power-play tally helped largely by a fortunate bounce off referee Brad Watson that put a tumbling puck on Donato’s stick and through Blues netminder Jake Allen -- the Bruins carried that 1-0 advantage into the second intermission.
But with the desperate Blues pressuring from the start of the third period, a quick release from Jaden Schwartz could not be stopped by the Nick Holden and Brandon Carlo defensive pairing nor goaltender Anton Khudobin, and tied things up at 9:36.
In survival mode from that point on, it took a playoff-clinching save from Khudodin’s blocker with just 1.5 seconds left in the third period for the scrambling Bruins to force overtime, only to be defeated by a second Schwartz goal, scored 30 ticks into overtime.
Two weeks ago, it’s a loss that frustrates you. Tonight? It’s a big bowl of whatever.
Down four of their top nine forwards (David Backes, Patrice Bergeron, Jake DeBrusk, and Rick Nash) and their top pairing (Zdeno Chara and Charlie McAvoy), the Bruins rolled into St. Louis with a total skeleton crew. And defenseman Torey Krug, who had logged at least 26 minutes of ice time in two of the last three games and paced for the first 60-point season by any Boston defenseman in the last 22 years, joined that list of injured bodies as a late scratch due to an apparent lower-body injury.
For them to match the Blues for the majority of the night -- with Kevan Miller playing some downright stellar hockey as the Bruins’ de facto No. 1 defender and the offensive game disappearing for the majority of the night -- and then also survive a late-push to earn exactly what they needed was all you could ask for out of this team in the now.
And now, with their playoff position set -- and home-ice in the first round at the very least seemingly like a virtual lock -- the Bruins can allow themselves to take a breath and perhaps give some thought to resting some of the few stars that are still standing.
A luxury this team has not been afforded in four years.
This and that
- Something oddly fitting about that Khudobin save being the one to help the Bruins clinch their postseason berth. Khudobin has been absolutely crucial to what the Bruins have been able to do this season. I don’t think it’s any sort of coincidence that a stabilization of the backup goaltender position has helped Tuukka Rask post his best numbers in what’s felt like half a decade and helped the Bruins clinch a spot in the NHL’s big dance before the final week of the regular season.
- Here’s something not so good: David Krejci goes to play the puck along the boards of his defensive zone, and gets absolutely leveled with a clear headshot from the Blues’ Brayden Schenn. It was almost identical to the hit that earned David Backes a match penalty in the first period of last week’s loss to the Panthers. This time around, it’s a two-minute charging penalty against Schenn. Moments later, the Bruins are whistled when Danton Heinen has a rinky-dink one-handed slash in pursuit of a St. Louis puck-carrier behind the net. So, those are considered equal. Great league we have here.
- The No. 1 seed would be nice, but I’m officially all about the Bruins getting healthy and rolling with their No. 1 squad come playoff time. More about that in my latest column for WEEI.com.
Up next
The Bruins head to Dallas for a Friday night head-to-head with the Stars. Tyler Seguin and Co. defeated the Bruins by a 3-2 overtime final in their only previous meeting this season. The Bruins have won four straight games in Dallas, with their last loss coming on New Year’s Eve 2011.
Ty Anderson is the Boston Bruins beat writer for WEEI.com, and has been covering the National Hockey League for HockeyBuzz.com since 2010. He can be heard on the Saturday Skate program on 93.7 WEEI (Boston), and has been part of the Boston Chapter of the PHWA since 2013. Contact him on Twitter or send him an email at Ty.AndersonHB[at]gmail.com.