Bruins again will have plenty to prove

A week has passed since the NHL revealed plans to complete the 2019-20 season, which was paused on March 12 by the coronavirus pandemic. While met, understandably, with extremely cautious optimism, the mere prospect of games being resumed and a Stanley Cup winner being decided was enough to generate excitement and some early signs of normalcy re-emerging.

You know: Debates. Predictions. Complaints. Disagreements. The overall reaction was generally positive, and given the [...]

A week has passed since the NHL revealed plans to complete the 2019-20 season, which was paused on March 12 by the coronavirus pandemic. While met, understandably, with extremely cautious optimism, the mere prospect of games being resumed and a Stanley Cup winner being decided was enough to generate excitement and some early signs of normalcy re-emerging.

You know: Debates. Predictions. Complaints. Disagreements. The overall reaction was generally positive, and given the circumstances, anything negative was tempered.

Happiest? The 24 teams that get to play on — especially the handful-plus that might not have qualified for the postseason had the league and players agreed to simply freeze the field at the 68-game mark (everyone had played at least that many games) and use a traditional 16-team playoff pool.

In the dumps? The seven teams told to stay home and wait until next year. While some veterans undoubtedly had little interest in playing out a long-lost season, many of their teammates — and some of their coaches — could have used more games to continue pursuit of contracts for next year.

And then there's a mixed-emotions subset. Teams glad they get to play, but thinking the return-to-play format doesn't give them the deal they deserve.

Count the Bruins in that category. They led the league at the pause, with very little chance of being passed had the full schedule been completed, but that coveted No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference and overall wasn't protected. To keep it, they've got to finish first in a three-game, round-robin tournament against the three teams below them in the East — the Lightning, Capitals and Flyers.

End of the world? Hardly.

In a way, the Bruins aren't even under any pressure: Teams seeded 5-12 have to survive a best-of-five “qualification round” series to get into the playoff field of 16, and no matter how the round robin goes, the B's have a free pass into Round 1 as no worse than the No. 4 seed in the East because of their regular-season finish. Theoretically, the Bruins could just treat the round robin as three exhibition games — get their legs beneath them and their heads back into their system, earn whatever points they can, then focus on their first-round opponent.

Don't bet on that. Even though they have have to earn the No. 1 seed a second time, if it's there to be won, the B's will try to win it.

The round-robin field and format could conspire against them, though.

First, the field. As motivated as the Bruins may be after falling one victory short of winning the Cup last year, the Lightning and Capitals have at least as much to prove, and maybe even more.

The 2019-20 campaign has been all about the playoffs for the Lightning, who tied an NHL record with 62 wins in '18-19, then famously flopped in a four-game, first-round sweep at the hands of the No. 8 Blue Jackets. Tampa Bay added size and a bit more experience last summer and at the trade deadline, so even if first- and second-round playoff series are best-of-five instead of best-of-seven (still to be determined), the Lightning are built better for a long haul. Also worth a mention: The Bolts have the deepest, most prolific offense in the league.

The Capitals have their own ax to grind: Defending Cup champions a year ago, they, too, lost to an underdog in Round One, falling in seven games to wildcard entry Carolina.

The Flyers? They're a different sort of wildcard. Out of the playoffs last season, they won nine of their last 10 games before the pause to pass Pittsburgh and, unbeknownst at the time, finish in the top-four in the East. They could be the “happy to be here” team in the round robin, but under accomplished first-year coach Alain Vigneault, they're more likely to be the “why not us?” entry.

The B's won't want to dwell too much on their regular-season series against their round-robin foes, although they'll certainly hear about going 1-2-1 against the Lightning, 1-1-1 against the Caps and 1-0-2 against the Flyers. Points-wise, 3-3-4 isn't awful in the NHL, but in real life, that's a 3-7 record. And with regular-season overtime and shootout rules in effect for the round robin, that 0-4 shootout record (two losses to the Flyers) is another topic the Bruins might like to avoid.

But when they start trickling in to work out at Warrior Arena this month, and then during training camp on or about July 10, and then again when they start playing games in a to-be-determined, fan-free “hub city” a few weeks later, the B's will undoubtedly point out their 2019-20 record (44-14-12), their relatively recent track record (one Cup and two other finals since 2011), their league-low goals-against average (2.39), and whatever else positive comes to mind.

They didn't make the system, and they probably don't like it, but they know the only thing that matters is beating it.