Every year, part of Beantown’s celebration on Patriots’ Day includes the Boston Marathon and a Red Sox matinee game. This year on Monday’s Massachusetts state holiday commemorating the Revolutionary War, many Hub fans also had their eyes on an NHL game 440 miles south in the nation’s capital.
And while a 2-0 loss by the Boston Bruins to the Washington Capitals wasn’t exactly what they were hoping for, there was some good news to be had when the New York Rangers topped the Ottawa Senators 4-0 in the Big Apple. That win by the Rangers — one of the Bruins’ biggest rivals — wrapped up the Presidents’ Trophy for the Blueshirts, giving the Boston faithful a collective sigh of relief.
Avoiding the Presidents’ Trophy and the so-called curse that goes with it was a hot topic all season in the city, and now it has come to pass that Boston won’t have to feel that built-in, added pressure this time around. A year ago, as NHL followers know so well, Boston had the best regular season in history to claim the award only to get bounced by the Florida Panthers in the first round of the playoffs. That collapse was a “Hindenberg-like ending,” according to Bruins TV announcer Jack Edwards in a Huffington Post article.
And for sure, there is some credence to the curse: only eight of the 36 previous Presidents’ Trophy winners went on to win the Stanley Cup. The B’s, by the way, were among the other 28 on four separate occasions. And although Boston was not expected to come close to ending the 2023-24 regular season with NHL top-of-the-mountain status for a second year in a row, the Bruins still had a chance to do just that going into Monday’s game.
So now, thanks to the Rangers and a loss to the Capitals, Bruins fans got what they wanted. That wish and prevailing sentiment was summed up nicely by Chris Young in an April 5 (Attleboro, Massachusetts) Sun-Chronicle story: “No one around here wants to be in contention for the Presidents’ Trophy again, because that regular-season award rarely leads to a Stanley Cup championship (last time it did: the 2013 Chicago Blackhawks), and is more of a jinx than an honor.”
If Young wanted to update those thoughts today, he could headline an article with: “Let the Rangers Have It.”
Atlantic Division Still up for Grabs
Instead of clinching the Atlantic Division with a win in their penultimate game of the regular season, the Bruins (47-19-15, 109 points) were lackluster in the loss to the Capitals, thereby leaving the division title’s door open for Florida (51-24-6, 108 points) to possibly walk through.
Related: Boston Bruins 50-Goal Scorers
Boston has another chance to get the Atlantic wrapped up on Tuesday at home in the season finale against Ottawa. However, a loss in that one coupled with a Panthers home victory against the Toronto Maple Leafs (46-24-10, 102) will cede the division to Florida.The fact that the Bruins didn’t get the division banner early can be considered bad news by some, but to others it may actually be fruitful in the long run.
If they win the Atlantic, the Bruins will face the Tampa Bay Lightning (44-29-8, 96) in the first-round of the playoffs. If they don’t, the opponent will be the Maple Leafs. The eventual first-round foe is another subject in which Bruins fans have sounded off on in the last few months. Most say they want the Maple Leafs, not the Lightning, and the only way to get that matchup is by finishing second in the Atlantic. The thinking behind that wish was posted in a summary of an April 2 98.5theSPortsHub.com morning radio show: “(Jim McBride pointed out on-air) that Toronto is a preferable matchup due to (the Bruins’) past success against them and their ability to shut down Toronto’s high scorers.”
This season, Boston is 4-0 against Toronto, and Tampa Bay is 3-1 against the Bruins.
7th Player Award to Be Named
Every year since 1969, the Bruins have named a 7th Player Award winner, and the 2023-24 recipient is expected to be named prior to Tuesday’s game against Ottawa.
There are eight candidates listed on NESN.com: Charlie Coyle, Trent Frederic, Morgan Geekie, Danton Heinen, Matthew Poitras, Brandon Carlo, James van Riemsdyk, and Parker Wotherspoon. The award is given to an unsung hero who is a player that has performed above and beyond expectations, according to NESN.com.
From this vantage point, based on the criteria, Heinen is the favorite to win it. The winger, who signed a one-year contract in October for a mere $775,000, has 17 goals and 19 assists for 36 points in 73 games. Perhaps even more importantly, he has fit in seamlessly with four-time All-Star David Pastrnak and last year’s 7th Player Award winner Pavel Zacha on the top line.
To me, Geekie (17-22-39) and Frederic (18-22-40), who are having career years, are close behind in the running for the award, as is Parker Wotherspoon, who has been consistently solid on the back line after spending most of every season since 2015-16 in the AHL.
Center Charlie Coyle (25-35-60) is another with a shot at the trophy selected by fan voting, but the fact that he was also a top producer for Boston in the previous two seasons ostensibly brings him outside the unsung criteria. Ah, but you never know if fans see Coyle as an underdog or not.
Sidney Crosby Didn’t Like David Pastrnak’s Slap Shot
Thinking it was unsportsmanlike, Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins gave grief to the Bruins’ David Pastrnak at the close of Saturday’s game, which was won by Boston 6-4. The two exchanged words after Pastrnak took a slap shot from in close on a breakaway with just seconds remaining.
According to a story in thehockeybeast.com, Crosby was “furious” at Pastrnak and “confronted” and “questioned” him about his actions. Goaltender Tristan Jarry made the save, and Pastrnak said he wasn’t trying to score. In postgame comments, the story went on to add, Crosby was more accepting of the way the game ended, saying “There wasn’t much to it.”