The Bruins have essentially won all they can win in the regular season. They captured the Presidents’ Trophy, thus giving them home ice advantage for the duration of the playoffs.
But with five games remaining, starting with Thursday’s contest against the Toronto Maple Leafs, the B’s still have to compete physically and prepare mentally for the oncoming playoffs. And they have reasons to show up for these final games.
First, there is the regular season wins record of 62 held by the 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings and the 2018-19 Tampa Bay Lightning, which the club is now embracing as a means to motivate themselves. The B’s need to win three of their final five games to surpass that mark.
And even more immediately, they were facing the Leafs on Thursday and the New Jersey Devils on Saturday, two teams that they could conceivably see in the second and/or third rounds of the Eastern Conference playoffs.
“There’s a lot of value,” said coach Jim Montgomery of the games against Toronto and Jersey. “It ups everybody’s antennas as far as intensity and purpose and getting to be able to test yourself on where you’re at, individually and collectively against the elite teams in the league.”
How Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe and NJ coach Lindy Ruff approach these games is anyone’s guess. Scoring a win over the B’s could mean more to them than winning could mean for the B’s. The Devils are 0-2 against Boston and Toronto was 1-2. But Montgomery said he won’t go so far as to do any team-specific game-planning for these games.
“We’re just worried about ourselves and playing Bruins hockey, playing the best version and playing the right way. If we do that, we’re going to be in games regardless. And then it’s good to see how we handle whether the games are tight or whatever the situation is, how we respond to that,” said Montgomery. “We get really specific about the other team once we know who we’re playing in the playoffs. Because to change our game – the Leafs and New Jersey are so different – if we change our game today and then have to change our game again to a completely different game, you’re not making wrinkles to your game, you’re going to to play those teams drastically different. So… as I’m thinking about it, I’m starting to talk slow, so players would play slow, so now you’re not even in the game.”
As for the wins record, the B’s had previously maintained that it didn’t matter to them. It was too distant and they feared it would take their focus away from their day-to-day process. But now that it’s almost within their grasp, they might as well go for it.
“We’ve talked openly about it that now that it’s such a short term, only five games, that chasing history helps us mentally prepare for the playoffs,” said Montgomery. “We think winning begets winning. If we had four wins less, we wouldn’t have the opportunity and it’s maybe not as easy to get up for the games. The regular season we’ve had so far is going to help us for the playoffs. That’s how we’re looking at it.”
Said Charlie Coyle: “Sometimes there are those little lulls where you’re already solidified in a spot and how do you keep that focus, how do you almost provide challenges for yourself? And that’s one there that can keep us motivated and give us something to strive for. Yeah, it’s not the end of the world if we get there or not. You grow up and you want to win a Cup, right? So that’s the main thing. But these little things along the way are only good things that you can add to your resume. I think as a team, it shows a lot of what we’re capable of and what we’ve accomplished this year.” …
With strong representation from Boston University (Coyle, Matt Grzelcyk, Charlie McAvoy and A.J. Greer), the Frozen Four was a big topic of conversation in the B’s locker room Thursday morning. But Quinnipiac’s Connor Clifton was proudly wearing his school colors after the morning skate.
“It creeps me out sometimes,” joked Clifton of all the Terriers in the room.
Montgomery won an NCAA title as a player with Maine and as a coach with Denver and he’s still very much a fan.
“It’s the pinnacle. I’m curious to see. I’m a big fan of (BU coach and former Bruin assistant) Jay Pandolfo and his style of coaching and I’m excited to see his group – it’s the first time any of those players have been in a Frozen Four – how they handle the big moment,” said Montgomery. “Because they’re going to be in front of 18,000 people and they’re going to be playing the No. 1 team on the country (Minnesota), so it’s a big opportunity. Win or lose, that program is going to grow and get better. And then to see the two Big 10 teams that have the most talent on paper, Minnesota and Michigan, and to see how Quinnipiac and BU do against those teams, the battle within the game, the game within the game. It’s the momentum swings and how people handle the momentum swings. In college hockey, you don’t have seven games. You have one game, and you have to be able to be able to put anything that’s happened, good or bad, behind you.”
As Greer was waxing poetically about BU, former Black Bear Jeremy Swayman chirped, “A.J., you played there for two months,” to which Greer responded “Is Maine even D1?”
For the record, Greer did leave early in his sophomore season, but he’s just two classes shy of his degree. …
While the B’s were not treating Thursday’s game as a throwaway, they were exercising precaution. David Krejci (lower body) was being held out for the second straight game and Taylor Hall, out since Feb. 25, was not yet cleared to play, said Montgomery.