Where Bruins stand in NHL playoff race as halfway point of season nears originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
The Boston Bruins have, at least so far, exceeded pretty much everyone’s expectations as the halfway point of the 2023-24 NHL season approaches.
Few people predicted the Bruins would be a lottery team this year. Even with the abundance of veteran departures over the offseason — including the retirements of top-six centers Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci — there was still enough talent on this team, especially in net, to make the playoffs.
Not only will the Bruins make the playoffs, they might finish with the best record in the Eastern Conference. There’s also a pretty good chance they repeat as Presidents’ Trophy winners — a feat that’s actually happened seven times since the award was created in 1985-86.
The Bruins enter Wednesday with a 24-8-8 record. They rank 10th in goals scored, fifth in power-play percentage, sixth in goals allowed and fourth in penalty killing.
Here’s where the Bruins stand in the playoff race and a look at what the team should prioritize over the second half of the regular season.
Atlantic Division
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The Bruins, barring a monumentally historic collapse, will make the playoffs for the eighth consecutive season. The only question is will they win the Atlantic Division for the second straight year, or finish No. 2 or No. 3? Dropping all the way down to one of the two wild card spots is very unlikely.
The B’s have sat atop the division for the entire season so far, but winning it is far from a certainty. The Florida Panthers, who beat the Bruins in the first round of the 2023 playoffs, have been closing the gap in recent weeks. Florida has won eight consecutive games and sits just two points behind Boston for first place.
Maintaining first place won’t be easy for the Bruins. They have the toughest remaining schedule, per Tankathon, while the Panthers are 15th in remaining strength of schedule. The Leafs are still a threat to win the division, too, although they have the third-toughest remaining schedule.
For what it’s worth, the Bruins are projected to finish with 108 points atop the Atlantic, based on…