The Boston Bruins failed to qualify for the 2015 Stanley Cup playoffs Saturday night.
Boston lost 3-2 in a shootout to the Tampa Bay Lightning, but before that game ended, the B’s fate already had been sealed as a result of the Pittsburgh Penguins beating the Buffalo Sabres 2-0.
Earlier on Saturday, the Ottawa Senators clinched a playoff spot with a win over the Philadelphia Flyers. That made Boston’s playoff hopes dependent on the Penguins losing in some sort of fashion to the Sabres, in addition to the Bruins beating the Lightning.
Boston finished the season with 96 points, which is the highest total for a non-playoff team in NHL history.
The last time the Bruins missed the playoffs was the 2006-07 campaign, and their seven-season postseason appearance streak was the third-longest in the league.
The Bruins now will enter the 2015 NHL Draft lottery, where they will have a 1 percent chance of winning the top pick. The top prospects in the 2015 class are Erie Otters forward Connor McDavid and Boston University forward Jack Eichel.
Thumbnail photo via Jerome Miron/USA TODAY Sports Images
