The Bruins punched their ticket to the Stanley Cup playoffs what seems like months ago before clinching the No. 1 seed before March ended.
Boston doesn’t know who its opponent is just yet, as the wild-card race continues to be as tight as ever.
Monday was a big day for the wild card race, as the Florida Panthers helped keep the Pittsburgh Penguins alive for the second spot with an overtime loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs. The New York Islanders, who would be the Bruins’ opponent if the season ended Tuesday, lost to the Washington Capitals. Plus, the Buffalo Sabres are hanging on for dear life and eked out a shootout victory over the New York Rangers.
One might think Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery would be paying attention to the games because of what’s at stake, but he had a pretty good reason for not turning in.
“(Monday) night was my anniversary, so I took my wife out to dinner,” Montgomery told reporters after Tuesday’s morning skate, per 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Ty Anderson. “That was more important. WAY more important.”
Hard to argue that. Plus, nothing about the Bruins’ position in the playoffs will change based on their opponent. When the puck drops for Game 1 of the first round, they’ll be at TD Garden.
Now Montgomery’s focus will be the final two games of the regular season, which begins with the Bruins’ final home game Tuesday night against the Washington Capitals. Puck drop from TD Garden is set for 7 p.m. ET and you can catch all the action an hour earlier on NESN.
