Another Historic Win For Bruins Team ‘On Top Of The League’

BOSTON – In some ways it was a nondescript Monday afternoon win for the Boston Bruins where they surpassed the Ottawa Senators, 3-1, with their depth and a star two goal performance from David Pastrnak at TD Garden.

But in other ways it was an extremely historical victory in an NHL regular season that’s been unprecedented in not only Boston Bruins franchise history, but in the century plus history of the National Hockey League as well. The Monday afternoon victory for the Boston Bruins gives them a 43-8-5 record with 91 points in 56 games played. That ties the 1979-80 edition of the Philadelphia Flyers for the fastest NHL team to ever hit the 90-point mark after notching their fourth win in a row with some afternoon hockey delight against the Sens.

The Bruins matched the NHL record in fewest games played to reach 90 points.@SalemFive celebrates these types of bold achievements. Make your move! pic.twitter.com/VTobB08PsN

— NESN (@NESN) February 20, 2023

That Flyers team, led by Ken Linesman, Brian Propp and Bobby Clarke with former B’s netminder Pete Peeters between the pipes, finished first in the Patrick Division with 116 points when the NHL season was all said and done, and lost to Mike Bossy and the New York Islanders in the Stanley Cup Final in six games. This Boston Bruins team looks completely recovered from a sluggish stretch around the NHL All-Star break where they lost four out of five game, and they now hold a 15-point lead in the Atlantic Division and a nine point lead for the NHL’s top overall record.

At this point with such a huge lead over everyone for the President’s Trophy, the Boston Bruins veterans admit that the challenge is much more mental than physical at this time of year with the Stanley Cup playoffs still a few months away.

“We’re at the point in the season where it’s mental. We all know what we can do in this room. We’ve got to be mentally prepared for each game,” said Boston Bruins center David Krejci. “We hit a tough patch maybe a couple of weeks ago, but we’re a good team and we’ve got good guys on the team.

“We talk about it, and it’s mental. We’ve got to get ready for these games and stay sharp. Because it’s not easy. This is the time of year where if you let up it can get away from you pretty easily, so we’ve got to stick together, grind it out and be mentally sharp. If you look at these last four games, we are battling. Everybody knows we’re on top of the league and they are bringing their best, so we have to be mentally ready because physically we know we can do it.”

If they stay sharp enough, they may also keep making NHL history as they are well within reach of setting a new record of 133 points while needing 42 points in their final 26 games. Certainly 21 wins over the season’s final two months is doable for a hockey club that’s lost only 13 games in the first 4 ½ months of the season.