The Boston Bruins clinched a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs on Thursday.
The Bruins (42-17-15) qualified for the playoffs for the eighth straight season when the Philadelphia Flyers lost 4-1 to the Montreal Canadiens.
Boston, which did not play Thursday, is first in the Atlantic Division, two points ahead of the Florida Panthers.
The Bruins are led this season by David Pastrnak, who has 101 points (45 goals, 56 assists). Brad Marchand is second with 63 points (27 goals, 36 assists), Charlie Coyle is third with 55 points (23 goals, 32 assists), and Pavel Zacha is fourth with 50 points (18 goals, 32 assists). Charlie McAvoy leads their defensemen in points with 44 (10 goals, 34 assists).
In goal, Jeremy Swayman is 23-8-8 with a 2.58 goals-against average, .916 save percentage and three shutouts in 40 games (39 starts). Linus Ullmark is 19-9-7 with a 2.64 GAA, .914 save percentage and one shutout in 36 games (35 starts).
"To be honest, we knew we were going to be in the playoffs for a while, probably since All-Star break," Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said Friday. "For us, it's more about battling for positioning right now and getting into the playoffs, most importantly, playing the right way."
The Bruins have won the Stanley Cup six times, most recently in 2011, when they defeated the Vancouver Canucks in seven games. Last season, they won the Presidents' Trophy after finishing with the most wins (65) and points (135; 65-12-5) in NHL history but lost to the Panthers in seven games in the Eastern Conference First Round.
“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," Marchand said. "That’s not what we said out to do at the start of the year. That’s part of a goal. That’s not the whole goal, so there’s still a lot that we need to accomplish this year and that’s one step of the way.
"So definitely happy about it. We got to where we needed to be and now it’s about getting further.”
NHL.com staff writer Tom Gulitti contributed to this report
