One of six teams within four points of the final Eastern Conference wild-card spot, the Boston Bruins embark on a make-or-break five-game road trip, which begins Thursday night in Las Vegas against the Pacific Division-leading Vegas Golden Knights.
Boston (30-30-9, 69 points), seventh in the Atlantic Division, is four points behind the Montreal Canadiens (33-27-7, 73 points), who have two games in hand, for the final playoff berth. The Bruins have lost three in a row and are just 11-18-3 on the road.
Still, interim head coach Joe Sacco is optimistic heading into the road trip, which also includes a weekend back-to-back at San Jose and Los Angeles followed by a Wednesday contest in Anaheim and a game at Detroit on March 29. The Rangers (72 points), Islanders (70), Columbus (70) and Red Wings (70) are also in the logjam for the final wild-card spot.
“We’re still in the thick of things here, and nothing changes for us or in our mindset in how we prepare or get ready for games,” Sacco said. “There’s still something to play for here. You string together a couple of wins, and you’re right back in it. You never know.”
The Bruins come in off a bitter 3-2 overtime loss to visiting Buffalo on Monday. Alex Tuch scored the game-winner on a power play with a redirection of Owen Power’s shot with just 11 seconds remaining in the extra period to deny the Bruins a crucial second point.
“Very frustrating, but we’ve got to get ready for the big road trip,” said right wing David Pastrnak, who leads the team with 34 goals and 83 points. “Overall, the effort was there today. I guess we can build on that. We need to be better because we’re going on a heavy West Coast trip, and if we don’t show up with effort and hard-work ethic, it’s not going to be pretty.”
First up is Vegas (39-20-8, 86 points), which is in a playoff dogfight with second-place Edmonton (40-24-4, 84) and third-place Los Angeles (36-21-9, 81) for first place and also home ice advantage in the Pacific Division.
The Golden Knights are coming off a disappointing (1-1-2) four-game eastern road trip that ended with a 3-0 loss at Detroit on Sunday afternoon. They have lost four of their last five games (1-2-2).
The good news is that their next three games are at T-Mobile Arena, where they are a sparkling 24-7-3 this season, and they follow a much-needed three-day break.
“We did get two practice days,” Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said. “After the Detroit (loss), I thought rest was more important. I do believe that. (But) we got in at a decent hour (early Sunday night) (and) we decided to practice (Tuesday). That was one we went back and forth on.
“I just felt we needed to get a pace practice in to get some touches in,” Cassidy continued. “That’s where I thought we left plays on the table all week, plays that our guys typically make. So we’ll see how it plays out this week.”
Center William Karlsson, out since Jan. 20 with a lower-body injury, was a full participant in both practices. Cassidy said Karlsson could be cleared to play on Thursday.
–Field Level Media
