The Bruins (44-30-6, 94 points) turned on the jets after a four-game losing streak threatened to derail their season, winning six games in a row and securing their right to play in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The six-game win streak in the longest stretch since March 2014.
In addition to the achievement, the Bruins can still improve their playoff positioning and potentially nab home ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs. Extending their winning streak against a division rival would help attain that goal.
"We have a couple big games coming up where we can solidify our spot in the standings and, hopefully, get some home ice advantage," said Torey Krug. "You've got to keep it going. At this point of year, nothing matters but winning hockey games and everyone wants to be a part of that."
A win against Ottawa on Thursday would vault the Bruins to the second spot in the Atlantic Division. With a regulation win against Ottawa, the Bruins would guarantee, at minimum, the third seed in the Atlantic Division with two points in any fashion against Washington on Saturday.
According to Interim Head Coach Bruce Cassidy, there is plenty more reason to show up for the final two tilts of the season, aside from the playoff picture.
"It's an important game," said Cassidy. "We want to finish as well as we can in terms of how we're playing, the points we accumulate, and where we finish in the standings."
"Right now, it's getting ready for Ottawa - things that we need to do to get through the neutral zone well to create offense, and keep the puck out of our net," Cassidy added.
"You want to prepare and keep building the confidence that we've done and established over the last six games," said Patrice Bergeron. "So, I think there are a lot of things that we can accomplish in the next two games."
Senators Head Coach Guy Boucher is known for his patented neutral zone trap, which the Bruins are sure to see plenty of on Thursday night. Ottawa ranks second in the NHL in point percentage when scoring first (.757), making the first strike crucially important for Boston.
"That's a big part of the game when you play Ottawa," said Krug. "They thrive off of turnovers in the neutral zone and they go the other way with it."
Although the Bruins haven't been able to crack the Senators code in the win column, Cassidy noted that his team played very well against Ottawa in their last matchup and expects more of the same on Thursday.
"We want to replicate the effort and change a few things to help the outcome go our way," Cassidy said, referring to their 3-2 loss against Ottawa at TD Garden back on March 21. "But, overall, I thought it was a much better game than how we played up there in Ottawa."
For Cassidy and the B's, the writing is on the wall: play well on Thursday and Saturday for the opportunity to play in front of a raucous TD Garden crowd to open up the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
