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Boston Bruins Clinch 2023 Atlantic Division

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Boston Bruins

For the second time in their last four seasons, the Boston Bruins are your Atlantic Division champions.

With their 2-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday afternoon at TD Garden, the Bruins now lead the Toronto Maple Leafs by a whopping 22 points. They have mathematically eliminated the Leafs from catching them.

This is the Bruins’ third overall since the league realigned and renamed its four divisions before the 2013-14 season. The Boston Bruins were Atlantic Division and President’s Trophy winners that season and for the 2019-20 season. Entering NHL action Thursday night, the Bruins (113 points) have a 13-point lead over the Carolina Hurricanes (100 points). Unless they suffer a significant collapse in their final ten games, they will have won the division and NHL regular season crown for a third time since the 2013-14 season.

This is the 27th division crown for the Boston Bruins in their 98-season history. The Bruins have won the Stanley Cup three times (1928-29, 1971-72, 2010-11) after winning their division.

Since the President’s Trophy was established in 1985-86, only five President Trophy winners have gone on to win the Stanley Cup. The 1986-87 Edmonton Oilers; the 1993-94 New York Rangers; the 2000-01 Colorado Avalanche; the 2001-02 Detroit Red Wings, and the 2013 Chicago Blackhawks, who beat the Bruins in six games in the 2013 Stanley Cup Final.

The Boston Bruins clinched a berth in the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs back on March 11 as they became the fastest team to 50 wins in NHL history with a 3-2 win over the Detroit Red Wings. This will be the Bruins’ seventh straight trip to the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Heading into NHL action Thursday night, the Boston Bruins were in line to face Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins (80 points) in the first round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs. That could change, though, if the Panthers (79 points) do get two points against the Maple Leafs and leapfrog the Penguins.’

It’s still baffling to think that veteran hockey scribes like yours honestly thought the Boston Bruins were a borderline playoff team this season. Still, most onlinecasinos did have them as long shots to win the Atlantic Division, Eastern Conference, and Stanley Cup. If you were one of the lucky and smart ones to take the Bruins at the beginning of the season, you’re in line for an excellent score soon!

 

 

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