With almost half the regular season still to be played, the B’s have already completed season series against historic and division rivals Montreal, Toronto and Buffalo -- three teams with which they’re jockeying for playoff position.
BOSTON -- Shortly after the Jan. 25-27 All-Star break, and once every NHL team has used its bye week, there’ll be discussion about how the league is heading into the best time of the season.
That’ll be a tough sell locally.
The Bruins, currently locked in a four-team battle to finish second to the all-but-uncatchable Lightning in the Atlantic Division, are already finished playing against the other three competitors. They’ve completed season series against the Maple Leafs and Sabres, winning three or four games against each, and Monday’s game at TD Garden was the last of the regular season against the Canadiens.
“It’s a little peculiar,” Bruins winger David Backes said. “Those divisional match-ups normally get heavy in intensity toward the end of the season.”
The B’s still have eight games left against Atlantic opponents, but there’s little chance those match-ups will have significant impact on the divisional standings. They have a game apiece remaining against the Senators and Red Wings, both of whom have virtually no hope of competing for a playoff position. The disappointing Panthers will have to make up significant ground if three remaining games against the B’s (all between March 7 and March 30) are to mean much, and the Lightning -- a whopping 14 points ahead of the second-place Leafs, who were two points better than the B’s, entering this week -- would have to slump badly for the three dates left with the Bruins (Feb. 28, March 25, and the April 6 season finale at TD Garden) to carry much significance.
“They seem to have left us Tampa a little bit towards the end of the season,” Backes said, “but (not) the opponents … maybe in the last few, handful of games where you’re competing, and can really push a team behind you, or catch them, because you’re denying them points while you’re getting your own -- a four-point game.”
The second- and third-place teams in the Atlantic meet in a first-round playoff series. Teams below third place in the Atlantic and Metropolitan divisions compete for two Eastern Conference wild-card berths -- the second slot all but certain to set up a first-round series against highly likely No. 1 seed Lightning.
“I guess, if you get into a race at the end of the year, it’s good to have some divisional match-ups,” Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said. “But you play the schedule in front of you, and off you go.”
On and off: Monday’s game against the Canadiens was the first of four in six nights for the Bruins, after which they take their bye. Following Saturday’s home game against the Rangers, they won’t be on the ice until Jan. 28, when they’ll get a practice in before hosting the Jets on Jan. 29. The bye also includes the Jan. 25-27 All-Star break.
Exactly how they’ll feel about taking such a long break will depend at least somewhat on how they play before it starts.
“Because we’re going well, I think the guys are excited to play,” said Cassidy, whose team had won six of its last seven through Saturday’s 3-2 decision at Toronto, and nine of its last 12. “I’d like to play six games before (the break), to be honest with you, because we’re healthy and we’re playing well.”
The B’s didn’t want to take any regrets into their vacations.
“We’ve definitely talked about … making sure it’s a big week for us,” Patrice Bergeron said. “We’re playing some good teams (Canadiens, Flyers, Blues, Rangers -- the last three currently below the playoff qualification line), and we’ve been playing some good hockey. So carry that over, keep that going, and hopefully feel good heading into the break.”
Around the boards: The Bruins didn’t announce it, but multiple reports had them placing center Colby Cave on waivers on Monday. Whether Cave is claimed by another team by the Tuesday noon deadline or goes unclaimed and reports to AHL Providence, the move temporarily leaves the B’s without a healthy spare forward. … Defenseman John Moore (second straight game) and Steven Kampfer (ninth) were healthy scratches.