Bruins
Fans piled for the exits as Danton Heinen’s empty-net goal capped off a meaningless win for Boston, but a significant loss for its opponent.
The Bruins didn’t need a win on Saturday for anything more than a little extra confidence heading into the playoffs in what was, by all accounts, a tune-up game.
The Pittsburgh Penguins, however, had everything to play for.
Sitting on the outside of the playoff bubble looking in, just about every result around the NHL on Saturday night seemed to lessen the odds of the Sidney Crosby-led Penguins reaching the postseason. A regulation win would give Pittsburgh a fighting chance, at a 42 percent chance to make the playoffs, according to the game broadcast.
A regulation loss, though, would drop them down to just 12 percent.
So, as Danton Heinen tacked on an empty-netter to seal a Boston victory, the air was taken out of PPG Arena, and distraught fans marched towards the exits. The looks on Penguins players’ faces told the story: they knew they needed the home win.
For the Bruins, this last stretch of the season was crucial in ways not as tangible. Boston clinched a postseason berth with more than eight regular season games remaining. So the wins effectively didn’t matter for the team’s future.
Still, with nearly all of the final games being against teams more desperate than the Bruins, Jim Montgomery and Brad Marchand each saw the stretch as an opportunity to sharpen up ahead of a first-round series.
“It’s a great opportunity for us to prepare for the playoffs,” Marchand said after the game. “We played a lot of really good teams lately … it’s a great opportunity for us to continue to improve our game and really get dialed in for what comes ahead.”
For those still tracking the standings, the Bruins moved back atop the Atlantic Division with Saturday’s win. Marchand didn’t seem to care much about that, though. His mind is focused on what Boston needs to look like in the playoffs.
“We’re playing well,” Marchand said. “Definitely some areas we can continue clean up, but we found a recipe for our team to have success, and when we play to our game plan, we’re a good team, and we can play with anyone.
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