Can the Boston Bruins Be Number One Again This Season and What Will It Take to Get There?
The Boston Bruins are in a fight for first place both in the Atlantic division and overall Ian McLaren of lockon Bruins is here to talk about that and all things Boston Bruins next on the locked on NHL podcast you’re locked on NHL your daily podcast on the National
Hockey League part of the locked on podcast Network your team every [Applause] Day And welcome everybody to the MonDay edition of the locked on NHL podcast part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day I want to thank everyone who makes lockon NHL your first listen of the day don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube or wherever you get
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Is great to welcome back to the show the host of locked on Boston Bruins Ian McLaren and Ian uh really intense time for the Bruins right now fighting for first place in the division fighting for the president’s trophy uh but yet they’re struggling a little bit as of late with consistency what’s been
Different recently than what’s been going on most of the season oh I think you know the Bruins got off to a fantastic start to the season and that really uh propelled them into first place I think they started like 141 and three or something like that prior to Thanksgiving and they had
A a fairly easy schedule to begin the year which really uh set them up for Success so they have been you know sitting at or near the top of the Atlantic division for most of the season but now we’re seeing them play against teams that are fighting for their
Playoff lives or fighting for playoff positioning and uh we’re seeing the Bruins have to uh step up and match that level of intensity and that’s you know a little bit what they’ve been struggling with they’re also you know first in the NHL in terms of shootout and overtime
Losses uh so really closing games out has been a struggle for them all season long uh they’ve done a good job of that recently and most recently on on Saturday when they played the capitals and had a 4minute power play that they successfully killed off in overtime
Before winning in the shootout uh so those are the kinds of things that head coach Jim Montgomery and the team have been working on kind of finishing games ramping up that playoff intensity and and trying to avoid what happened last year year which was being caught by a
Hot team at at the wrong time in the first round of the playoffs how important is it for this Bruins team to win the division and or win the president’s trophy I mean it would be nice uh especially in a centennial season to win uh the president’s trophy just to have that
Kind of uh Hardware to go along with this historic season um but I would think if you would ask most fans and most players they would say it’s not incredibly important because of what happened last year you know they had the most points in NHL history they
Ran away with the president’s Trophy and within a couple weeks their season was done because they weren’t able to finish out the Florida Panthers in the first round uh so I would think um it would be nice um but at the end of the day you want to head into the playoffs playing
The right way that’s that’s what’s most important we’ve seen time and time again no matter who you’re matched up against it could be the most favorable matchup in the playoffs anything can happen once those 16 teams uh started it’s just completely different hockey a completely different season and uh for me what’s
Most important is that they’re playing the right way and that they’re set up to succeed uh not to diminish from the president trophy it’s a significant award it’s you know it it’s kept on the record books and things like that uh but we saw what happened last year uh it
Would be a nice bonus but most fans are more concerned about what happens Beyond uh Beyond game 82 that’s just the reality of of pro sports that’s what means most is playoff success and uh so winning the Atlantic probably means the difference between playing the Toronto
Maple Leafs in round one but you could still end up playing the Tampa Bay Lightning in round one as well as a wild card team so um first overall would be nice to play say those Washington Capitals if they’re able to squeak in but again it doesn’t guarantee anything so um
Not I wouldn’t say it’s incredibly important to to finish first overall or first in the division at least how much is the Spectre of that early playoff exit from a year ago hanging over this team right now I mean for me personally it wasn’t as devastating or disappointing as losing
Game seven in the Stanley Cup Final on home ice back in in 2019 that you know even if you get beyond the first round there’s no guarantee that you’re going to get past the second or even even to the Stanley Cup Final to be that close
Five years ago and to not have that Stanley Cup that that really stung but it has hung over this team all year long in the sense uh what I was discussing earlier that that failure to close out they were you know Brad Marshon could have won game five against the Panthers
With a breakaway uh they had uh overtime losses in games five and seven they had lead in game seven against the Panthers um and still couldn’t finish it out so that really has hung over this team every time they blow a lead or or lose in overtime it’s
You know this what has this team learned from that experience you want to see some growth Evolution obviously it’s a completely different team without Patrice berson and David cree and this was meant to be kind of a bridge year a transition year where they’ll they’ll
Have a lot of money to spend this summer uh but the expectations are always very high with this franchise and um yeah that loss certainly still hangs over for the guys that remain and I know Brad Marshon specifically as Captain would love to see uh you know Make Your Mark
As team captain uh by winning by winning in the playoffs so uh I know that he would like to really erase what what happened last season so here we are in the home stretch of the regular season what are some of the things the Bruins
Need to work on to get to playing the right way as you described earlier yeah I mean it’s it all comes back to closing out games they’ve had uh very poor results playing uh late in the game when the other team has the goalie pulled
They’ve given up a lot of late uh late game goals for the tie probably not as physical as some fans would like them to be hopefully Pat maroon can get into the lineup at some point and and add that element um and just really having that uh that Killer Instinct and not coasting
At all but just keeping the foot on the gas um until until the final final buzzer goes it’s really cliche but that’s really what this team needs just uh to erase that kind of you know everything’s good we can just Coast until uh until the playoffs really no
The playoff mentality in the NHL begins it’s already begun you can see it night in and night out around the NHL right now and uh you can’t afford to wait until game 82 is done to get into playoff mode you have to get there like
Now or a couple weeks ago even to to to succeed in the postseason David Pastak having such a great year close to 50 goals but not quite there do you think he makes it and what will it take yeah I mean on any given night he’s a guy that
Could score one two three goals so uh I think he’s on Pace right now for 49 goals if he’s able to play uh but what’s impressed me with him is that he’s already set a career-high in assists which it might be more important for the Bruins again having lost those
Top two centers he’s developed into uh not just an elite goal scorer but an elite play driver and he can facilitate scoring for some other guys as well um so that you know the fact that he his goal total is a bit down from last season but he’s still uh over 100 points
On track for almost a career year because of the helpers that have have risen that has been a huge benefit uh to the Bruins as a whole it’ be great to get to 50 um he’s you know on track to become one of if not the top goal scorer
In Boston Bruins history If he if he remains with the team for his whole career so every every one of those Milestones just uh cements his his claim as one of the the best scorers in team history for sure Ian why don’t you tell viewers and our listeners where they
Could find the podcast and where they could find you on social media locked on Boston Bruins available on your favorite podcast app and on YouTube you can find it on social media at locked NHL Bruins and you can find me ATC McLaren all right Ian thanks so much always a pleasure yeah thanks
G today’s episode is brought to you by sleeper regardless of where your favorite team is in the standings
The Boston Bruins are battling for first place in the Atlantic Division and first place overall in the league.
Ian McLaren of Locked On Boston Bruins joins us to discuss the race, how important it is and what the team needs to do to finish strong and get ready for the playoffs. Plus, David Pastrnak and his chances of reaching 50 goals this season.
All this and more on today’s Locked On NHL Podcast with Gil Martin,
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