The mighty Boston Bruins have only a few games left in their terrific season, currently sitting at 45-17-15, the team is looking forward to their Stanley Cup playoff run, following a 4-1 win against the Carolina Hurricanes on April 4, this is the kind of win that head coach Jim
Montgomery wants to see more from his Bruins.
The Bruins had 3 goals in the first period and 1 in the 3rd. One of them was captain Brad Marchand’s 400th career goal. The Bruins have dominated all year long, making fans happy and satisfied following an offseason and suspicion and worry, following the retirements of Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci.
To replace them, Boston brought in Charlie Coyle and Pavel Zacha and they quickly became the club’s top 2 centers handling their new assignments the way they were supposed to. Coyle especially has been really impressive, a former 3rd line center, he is thriving in a top six role.
The Massachusetts native has already set a new career high with 24 goals. Bruins fans are also looking forward to seeing what their captain Brad Marchand has to offer in the twilight of the season.
Marchand, who recently scored his 400th goal of his storied career, also gained his 57th shorthanded point of his career, he is now 10th on the all time shorthanded scoring list which is an incredible feat for No. 63, he has joined elite company with hockey legends Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, and Steve Yzerman, and other hockey greats.
This only goes to show how great Marchand is, he is one of the best penalty-killing forwards hockey has ever seen. Boston is returning home after a 6 game road trip for their first game on the homestead since March 21, where they will host the Florida Panthers who are another top team in the Atlantic Division.
The Bruins have finished their road trip with 3 straight wins. “First place is on the line” says head coach Jim Montgomery, “Besides that, we really just want to continue what we’ve been doing, especially these last two games…we feel that our play is in a good place”.
Brad Marchand hopes that the team can gain its confidence from playing away from home,“All these teams that we’re playing right now are tough and playoff ready, playoff bound” he says “It’s a great challenge every night. It’s the way you want to play”. But with all the success the Bruins have had this year, the Bruins have been dealt a major injury blow, Justin Brazeau was injured following a collision with Nashville Predators defender Luke Schenn on April 2.
It seemed as though Justin was going to be on the postseason roster. Scoring 5 goals in 19 appearances, he has certainly carved out himself a role on the Bruins, but now his role will have to be filled by someone else.
Boston only has a few games left to figure things out, but fans hope to see him return for the playoffs. Aside from all of the aches and pains, the Bruins are entering the home stretch of their dominant season ready to roll and ready to charge the playoffs head on. The team and its fans have a lot to look forward to, Brad Marchand’s continuing domination, the rise of some young rookies, and many other things.
“You want to play these tough games going down the stretch and getting prepared.” says Brad Marchand. Things are only getting better for the Boston Bruins, and sooner or later, they will be bringing the Stanley Cup back to Boston.