WASHINGTON – Two nights after clinching their eighth consecutive postseason berth, the Bruins will get back to game action with a tilt against the Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena on Saturday night.
Boston will be closing out the second part of a six-game stretch away from TD Garden, which features three separate road trips. The Bruins – who dropped a game in Philadelphia last weekend before splitting matchups in Florida and Tampa earlier this week – will return home following their meeting with the Capitals for a day off on Sunday and a practice on Monday morning before getting back on the road for a two-game trip to Nashville and Carolina.
“We’re playing some great teams down the stretch, a team like Washington is fighting for their lives to get in,” said Kevin Shattenkirk, who will return to the lineup on Saturday night. “It forces us to kind of match the desperation given the chance that we’ve already clinched. There’s still work to do. I think we’re all taking that challenge and remembering that we need to be ready to go once playoffs start.”
Here's everything else you need to know ahead of the 7 p.m. ET puck drop on NESN and 98.5 The Sports Hub:
A Spot at the Dance
With losses by Detroit and Philadelphia on Thursday night, the idle Bruins earned a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. And while captain Brad Marchand acknowledges the Black & Gold should be proud of that accomplishment, he also noted that there is plenty of work left to be done with eight games remaining in the regular season.
“At the start of the season, that’s what you set out to do, get a spot in the playoffs. It doesn’t matter where you end up in those 16 seeds, make sure you’re there and get a seat at the table,” Marchand said following Boston’s practice at the Capitals’ training facility in Arlington, Virginia, on Friday afternoon.
“We did a great job accomplishing that first goal. We have eight games left that we need to continue to climb and fine tune our game so that we’re prepared come playoff time. I think we need to be proud of that first step. We came together really well here. We battled through a lot of adversity and a lot of changes in our lineup. So, we have to be proud of that fact, but we can’t get complacent.
“That’s not what we set out to do at the start of the year. That’s part of the goal, it’s not the whole goal. There’s still a lot that we need to accomplish this year. That’s one step of the way. Definitely happy about it. We got to where we needed to be and now it’s about getting further.”
Marchand said the Bruins must use the final two weeks of the regular season to shore up their game as much as possible as they gear up for Game 1.
“A great opportunity for us to get ready for the dance,” said Marchand. “We thrive when we play a certain way and when we get away from that, we’re a team that can be beaten. I think the next eight games are our biggest challenge and what we need to fine tune, making sure we put that game on the ice every single night regardless of how tired we are or the travel or who we’re playing.
“It’s about preparing the same way each night. Come playoff time you can’t just flip a switch. There’s a lot of teams that are fighting for their lives right now and playing really well. If you don’t have that same mindset, you’re going to get caught off guard come playoff time.”