Bruins Vault to 3rd in East With Second Half Surge

Two seasons ago, the Bruins posted a 21-16-4 first half before a 29-10-2 second half saw them wind up with 106 points, losing the division title by 1 and the conference title by 2. Now, in season eerily mirroring it, the Bruins wound up posting a franchise record 114 points in 2023-24, losing both the division and conference titles by a single point.

At one point sporting a 19-15-5 record and sitting outside of the playoffs, the turning point of Boston's season directly coincides with the acquisition of Jared McCann, having gone 35-7-1 in the 43 games since acquiring him, good for an .826 winning percentage that would have far-and-away led the league (Pittsburgh and Boston were a league-best .701 over the full season). The Bruins were a remarkable 33-5 in the season's final 38 games and 19-2 in the final 21.

Although their final record of 54-22-6 still falls just shy of capturing the regular season title, the Bruins are poised to make some noise in the playoffs if they can maintain a semblance of their brilliant play down the stretch. Still, in an Eastern Conference that is absolutely stacked (the eight East playoff teams also rank 1-through-8 in the entire EHE, with 103 points being required to make the playoffs), nothing is guaranteed.

"The group has come together better than I could possibly have imagined," said GM Trevor Cook ahead of the playoffs, where Boston will take on the Toronto Maple Leafs (46-25-11, 103 points). "But at this time of year, everyone's a good team. We can't be taking anyone lightly... everyone really had to earn their spot. We've been bringing it pretty consistently for the whole second half of the season. We just have to keep doing that."