The Bruins had a chance to clinch a playoff spot on their own with a win Tampa Bay on Wednesday, but they didn’t have enough gas in the tank to capture the one point they needed.
Not to worry.
The B’s backed into a playoff spot on Thursday when the Canadiens beat the Flyers in regulation. It’s the B’s eighth straight season in the playoffs.
While the B’s are officially in, their opponent is still very much in the air. At the moment, they’re lined up to play the Lightning, who smothered them in a 3-1 loss on Wednesday.
The B’s hung on to first place in the Atlantic Division on Thursday by virtue of the Florida Panthers’ loss to the Islanders. But the Panthers, who have a game in hand on the B’s and currently own the tiebreaker, still control their fate, trailing the B’s by just two points. The B’s have eight more regular season games.
The B’s have another day off on Friday before taking on the Washington Capitals on Saturday. The surprising Caps, who handed the B’s a 3-0 thumping at the Garden on Feb. 10, are in a dog fight for a playoff spot. They currently have a two-point lead for the second wild card, but they also trail the Flyers for third place in the Metropolitan Division by just a point.