BOSTON -- The end of February isn’t exactly a key marker on the NHL schedule. There’s no particular urgency surrounding Game No. 60 or 61, but with the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline in nine days and the calendar quickly turning to March, that pressure will come in a hurry.
That’s especially true for teams that haven’t been performing up to expectations of late, teams that have seen cushions grow smaller and teams beneath them in the standings grow closer, like the Boston Bruins and the Vegas Golden Knights.
“There’s so many swings during the year -- and we’ve seen that this year -- and I think all these swings are going to help us,” Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said Wednesday. “You’ve got to overcome a lot more this year than we’ve had to in the past, and that’s a good thing in the long run. Everybody wants to peak at the right time, and peaking right now isn’t the right time.”
Each of the two teams, who face off at TD Garden on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; SCRIPPS, NESN, SNP, SNW, SNE), have gone through a bumpy patch of late. The Bruins are coming off a 1-0-3 road trip through Western Canada and Seattle and have gone to overtime in each of their past six games. They are 2-2-5 in their past nine.
One month ago, on Jan. 28, Boston had a five-point lead on the Florida Panthers in the Atlantic Division. It’s now tied.
“If we win half more of those [overtime games], we’re at 87 points and we’re probably clear of first place by a little bit, first place in the League by a lot,” Montgomery said. “I just worry about our play as a 5-on-5 team. That’s your primary focus. That’s how you win in the playoffs. Us building our identity for the playoffs is the No. 1 priority.”
The Golden Knights had lost three straight games (0-2-1) before a 6-2 win at the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday. That ended a six-game stretch in which Vegas had gone 1-4-1. Before that, it was second in the Pacific Division, five points behind the Vancouver Canucks but seven ahead of the Edmonton Oilers. The Golden Knights are now 10 back of the Canucks, with just a one-point lead on the Oilers.
“We’re trying to build, like everyone else, our game for this time of the year,” Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said. “So that we’re A) in the playoffs; and B) feeling good about ourselves when we get there.”
The Golden Knights have been hit hard by injuries but could be close to getting at least one of those players back, with center Jack Eichel practicing here Wednesday in a red non-contact jersey. It remains unlikely he will play against his hometown Bruins, but he could return from his knee injury before Vegas’ road trip ends March 4 at the Columbus Blue Jackets.
“Our [play] has been uneven, probably because of people going in and out and trying to find balance in the lines,” Cassidy said. “Our [defense] corps now is healthy; I think they’ve played four games together all year as the six we finished with last year, so they’re starting to find their way a little bit as a group. And we need that. We’re reliant on that to win games.”
They looked good Tuesday, getting that needed win against the Maple Leafs, with 10 different skaters getting a point. It was the kind of game that can springboard a team, with an improved forecheck, improved puck decisions and an improved outlook.
Especially if it’s followed up by another win, against a team that is struggling itself.
“We’re trying to figure out how we close games out a little bit better, how we play a complete 60 minutes,” Montgomery said. “Whether we start well and maybe don’t finish well, or vice versa.”
The Bruins lost third-period leads in three games on the road trip. That has turned on its head one of the usual hallmarks of a Boston team, the ability to close games out in the waning moments. It’s something they know can’t continue.
“I felt we were tentative in Seattle (a 4-3 shootout loss on Monday),” Montgomery said. “You’ve got to play to extend leads and to own the puck instead of not wanting the puck. I’m not saying we played that way, but it looked like that and it felt like that.”
Which can build on itself.
“Teams are good, and teams are going to make pushes,” Bruins forward Jake DeBrusk said. “Sometimes maybe it can get in your head a little bit. At the same time, we’ve been in this position a lot. So, we should know better.”
In just over a week, both the Bruins and the Golden Knights will know what they will look like for the stretch run. The Trade Deadline (March 8 at 3 p.m. ET) will have passed and they will be into the final quarter of the season. The Stanley Cup Playoffs will feel close, and the standings will be imperative.
“I think you should be really comfortable with your game come March, where you’re at and how you want to play and what it’s supposed to look like every night to beat good hockey teams,” Cassidy said. “So, I wouldn’t say peak, but there’s certain checklists you should be hitting by now, or after the Deadline. … But by mid-March, you want to comfortable in every game and know that you’re playing the right way.”
So, is it worrisome that the cushion is gone?
Not necessarily.
“I think it’s a good thing that we have to find ways to win hockey games down the stretch here,” Montgomery said.
