The Bruins are Getting Hot in March Again This Season
Last March, the Bruins hit their stride and went on a winning streak that enabled them to eventually win the Presidents’ Trophy as the NHL’s top regular season team. While the circumstances leading up to March haven’t been as promising in 2015, the Bruins once again are playing their best hockey of the season.
In 2014, the Bruins lost on March 1 and won their next 12. That season-long win streak was halted in a shootout loss on March 22, but the B’s won the next three games and finished the month with an incomparable 15-1-1 record.
With Saturday’s 2-0 triumph in Pittsburgh, the 2014-15 Bruins have tied their longest winning streak of the season at five games, once again going on a run following a loss to open the March schedule. Boston has tightened up defensively, allowing just eight goals over the course of the winning streak.
The B’s conceded just 16 goals over the course of the 12-game streak last season, a feat that is even more impressive considering then-backup goaltender Chad Johnson played five of those games. This season’s Bruins have relied on Tuukka Rask to shoulder the load.
While there are no delusions of a repeat Presidents’ Trophy season, the Bruins have made up some ground in the Eastern Conference playoff race. Boston sits just three points behind Detroit for third place in the Atlantic Division, and have drawn even with Washington for the top wild card spot (with a game in hand), leading up to Sunday’s head-to-head matchup.
For as disappointing as the Bruins were to start the season, the recent resurgence is an encouraging sign that the Bruins will at the very least be a tough out come playoff time.
And if there’s more to the revival than that, and the Bruins aren’t simply peaking a few weeks too early like last season, they could make some noise in the quest for the Cup.
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