If and when the NHL season resumes, the Boston Bruins will return to action with a proverbial target on their backs.
The Athletic’s Scott Burnside pegged the Bruins No. 1 in the NHL Power Rankings he published Tuesday. Burnside’s latest NHL power rankings came in the aftermath of commissioner Gary Bettman’s announcement of a “return to play” plan, under which action would resume under a 24-team playoff format. The Bruins would be a top seed, having ended the regular season with an NHL-leading 100 points and claimed the 2019-20 Presidents’ Trophy, and Burnside believes the pause in the season gives the battle-hardened B’s a chance to enter the Stanley Cup Playoffs in good health and hungrier than ever for success.
“Only three teams earned first-place votes so not surprising the NHL’s best team at the pause comes out on top here,” Burnside wrote. “The pause may in fact help a veteran Bruins team that went to Game 7 of the 2019 final and now will have fresh legs to go with that chip on their collective shoulders.”
The NHL hasn’t indicated when play will resume again, but the announcement of a playoff format has crystallized the pecking order of team’s in the minds of a number of analysts.
The Bruins also would enter the postseason as the Stanley Cup betting favorites, offering another reason to believe in Boston’s championship prospects. Fans undoubtedly are hoping Bruins players will be ready to deliver.
