After two months of pomp and circumstance in an unbalanced Atlantic that they have dominated from the jump this year, what's left of the Bruins officially punched their ticket to the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs on Wednesday with a 2-1 overtime loss to the Blues.
Out to a one-goal in the first period thanks to Ryan Donato's second goal in as many NHL games -- a power-play tally helped largely by a fortunate bounce off referee Brad Watson that put a tumbling puck on Donato's stick and through Blues netminder Jake Allen -- the Bruins carried that 1-0 advantage into the second intermission.
But with the desperate Blues pressuring from the start of the third period, a quick release from Jaden Schwartz could not be stopped by the Nick Holden and Brandon Carlo defensive pairing nor goaltender Anton Khudobin, and tied things up at 9:36.
In survival mode from that point on, it took a playoff-clinching save from Khudodin's blocker with just 1.5 seconds left in the third period for the scrambling Bruins to force overtime, only to be defeated by a second Schwartz goal, scored 30 seconds into overtime.
Two weeks ago, it's a loss that frustrates you.
Tonight? It's a big bowl of whatever.
Down four of their top nine forwards (David Backes, Patrice Bergeron, Jake DeBrusk, and Rick Nash) and their top pairing (Zdeno Chara and Charlie McAvoy), the Bruins rolled into St. Louis with a total skeleton crew. And defenseman Torey Krug, who had logged at least 26 minutes of ice time in two of the last three games and paced for the first 60-point season by any Boston defenseman in the last 22 years, joined that list of injured bodies as a late scratch due to an apparent lower-body injury.
For them to match the Blues for the majority of the night -- with Kevan Miller playing some downright stellar hockey as the Bruins' de facto No. 1 defender and the offensive game disappearing for the majority of the night -- and then also survive a late-push to earn exactly what they needed was all you could ask for out of this team in the now.
And now, with their playoff position set -- and home-ice in the first round at the very least seemingly like a virtual lock -- the Bruins can allow themselves to take a breath in what has been a brutal March. And more importantly, they can perhaps give some thought to legitimately resting some of the few stars that are still standing and battling through some bumps and bruises of a busy stretch run. (Which is maybe what you saw Bruce Cassidy do with Krug, who has obviously been battling through a lower-body ailment of some sort for well over a week now, tonight.)
A luxury this team has not been afforded in four years.
The Bruins head to Dallas for a Friday night showdown with the Stars.
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