Not just the first-place spot — currently occupied by the Flyers, who own a two-point lead over the Bruins — but almost every single slot throughout the conference, as eight points separate the top six teams and three teams are currently battling for the final two slots.
Six of the Bruins' 17 remaining games are against teams currently in the top eight slots in the East, including two against the sixth-place Canadiens and two against the Rangers, who are looking to fend off the Sabres for the seventh seed. The B's also play the Maple Leafs twice more, and nothing would make Leafs general manager Brian Burke happier than sneaking into the postseason and knocking the Bruins down a peg in doing so.
The way things have been going in the East, there's no telling who will end up where. Will the Bruins hang on to second? Will they catch Philly? Will they lay an egg and drop out of the top four slots?
While nobody knows the the answers to these questions, B's fans can begin to wonder which Bruins team will show up for the playoffs. The B's haven't made it out of the second round since 1992 but have gone 8-2 in their last two first-round conference quarterfinal matchups, topping the Canadiens in 2009 and the Sabres last spring. Before that, however, the team's last quarterfinal win was in 1999 against the Canes, as they suffered opening-round playoff losses to the Habs three times and Devils once in four playoff-qualifying years from 2000 to 2008.
If and when the B's lock up a spot, which team do fans least want to see come to the TD Garden in the first round?
Which opponent poses biggest first-round threat for Bruins in NHL playoffs?online surveys
