State of the Bruins: Playoff race update at 4 Nations Face-Off break originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
The Boston Bruins had a chance to go into the 4 Nations Face-Off break with some real momentum, but back-to-back defeats to the New York Rangers and Vegas Golden Knights have landed the Original Six franchise outside of a playoff spot.
The B’s have been very inconsistent throughout the 2024-25 campaign, and that was evident over their last eight games.
During that stretch, they beat the Senators and Avalanche, then lost their next two games. They beat the Rangers and Wild after that, then lost their next two games. The Bruins have just one win streak longer than two games (four in a row in December) this season. Every time it looks like the B’s are building momentum and about to go on a run, this group takes a step (or two) back.
The Bruins can still make the playoffs. That’s not an impossible goal despite the team’s struggles. But there are only 25 games left for the B’s to save their season.
The NHL will pause for the next two weeks to play the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament in Montreal and Boston. Four Bruins players — Jeremy Swayman (USA), Charlie McAvoy (USA), Elias Lindholm (Sweden) and Brad Marchand (Canada) — will play in the tournament.
“It’s a long break; you have to stay in shape,” Bruins forward David Pastrnak told reporters after Saturday’s loss to the Golden Knights. “Obviously, you can take time off and spend time with your family, but we have to make sure when we come back that we are ready to work because we have a lot of work ahead of us.”
Here’s a look at where the Bruins stand at the break.
Playoff race
The Bruins still have a chance to finish third in the Atlantic Division, but they are six points behind the Tampa Bay Lightning with two more games played.
The Bruins are only one point out of a wild card berth, although they do have more games played than every other team in the mix.
Here’s a look at the wild card race at the break:
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MoneyPuck gives the Bruins just a 14.9 percent chance of making the playoffs based on its model.
The Red Wings have been on fire of late with a 7-2-1 record in their last 10 games. The Islanders 7-3-0 in their last 10.
The Bruins have only three more…