If you had said before this two-game trip to Florida that the Bruins would get two of a possible four points, they probably would have taken that, especially since their top two centers (Elias Lindholm and Pavel Zacha) were both out.
The way the games actually played out, Boston feels like it should have had more. The Bruins let a four-goal lead slip away Sunday in Tampa before losing to the Lightning in a shootout. On Wednesday in Sunrise, they were the ones mounting the comeback as they overcame a two-goal, third-period deficit to force overtime, but once again lost in the shootout, this time for a 5-4 final against the Panthers.
Now, the Bruins are on break. They won't play again until Feb. 26 thanks to the Olympics. Eight Bruins will be flying to Italy to play in those Olympics (nine if you add AHLer Dans Locmelis for Latvia). The rest will be going on vacation for a bit before regrouping in Boston for a mini-training camp in two weeks.
When the Bruins do return, it will be a sprint to the finish, with just 25 games remaining in the regular season. They will only play four more games between now and the March 6 trade deadline.
So, it's a good time to take stock of where – and what – these Bruins are. For starters, and most importantly, they're a team that is in a playoff spot.
After Wednesday night, the Bruins remain in the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference with 69 points in 57 games (.605 points percentage). They are four points ahead of the ninth-place Columbus Blue Jackets, who are suddenly the hottest team in the NHL with a seven-game winning streak. They're eight points ahead of the Panthers, the team everyone wants to bury before they find their championship form.
Looking upwards, the Bruins are also just three points out of second place in the Atlantic Division. Boston, Detroit, Montreal and Buffalo are separated by three points in spots 2-5 in the division, while the Lightning have started to pull away at the top.
"Definitely happy where we are," David Pastrnak said Wednesday night. "We are in the playoffs right now. And honestly, before the season, if you say that heading into the break, you're gonna be in playoff position, then we will all take it."
Pastrnak probably speaks for Bruins players, the organization, and the fanbase alike. Few outside the walls of TD Garden and Warrior Ice Arena thought this team would be anywhere near a playoff spot. Those inside the building had higher expectations for themselves, but knew they needed to prove it.
"No, not really," Morgan Geekie said Wednesday morning when asked if he was surprised by anything this season. "I thought as a group, we would agree that we underperformed last year. And then with the deadline and stuff, it always makes it hard to kind of come back after that. But for this group, this year, this is kind of how we were built, to win scrappy games and be tough to play against. I think we've kind of lived up to that expectation."
Perhaps the Bruins' most admirable trait this season has been their resiliency. They have endured two six-game losing streaks that could have completely derailed their season – one back in October before they could even find their footing, and another in late December that had their detractors ready to proclaim they had finally fallen back to earth.
But on both occasions, the Bruins have dug themselves out of those holes. They won eight of their next nine after that first losing streak. Their turnaround after the December skid has been even more impressive.
Since Dec. 31, the Bruins have the second-best record in the NHL (12-2-3). They lead the league in goals over that span and rank seventh in goals against. Their power play has remained strong, and enters the break ranked fourth on the season. They've lost in regulation once in their last 14 games.
So, are they for real? Is it time to start believing in these Bruins? That depends on what the bar is. It would still be a stretch to call them true Stanley Cup contenders. Most of their 5-on-5 analytics for the season remain poor (28th in expected goals-for percentage at 46.5%). They still lead the league in penalty minutes and rank second in minor penalties taken. Their penalty kill has struggled for a couple months now while slipping to 28th in the NHL. That's not a good combination.
But the scoring hasn't slowed down. They have the stars at the top of the lineup in Pastrnak (sixth in the NHL in points with 71), Geekie (tied for third in goals with 32) and Charlie McAvoy (who has been excellent since returning from a broken jaw in mid-December, and who survived another injury scare Wednesday after taking an elbow to the head from Sandis Vilmanis), but they aren't solely relying on them. They have 11 players with at least 20 points; only three teams have more.
And Jeremy Swayman and Joonas Korpisalo have gotten back on track since a rough December for both netminders. Swayman is tied for third in the NHL in wins and is fourth in goals saved above expected. He has a real shot at stealing playing time from Connor Hellebuyck for Team USA in the Olympics.
According to MoneyPuck's playoff odds, the Bruins have a 63.8% chance of making the postseason. It is not crazy at all at this point to say this team should make the playoffs.
As far as what general manager Don Sweeney should do before the trade deadline, that remains complicated. This team has done enough to earn at least some level of investment, but trading any kind of valuable asset for a rental should still be off the table.
Trading for a player with term, or a pending free agent who's willing to sign an extension, could absolutely be in play, though. Sweeney already took a run at defenseman Rasmus Andersson before backing out once Andersson said he wouldn't sign an extension.
Then there's the Bruins' own pending free agents, namely Viktor Arvidsson and Andrew Peeke. There is still a case to be made for trading one or both if Sweeney isn't planning to re-sign them, but it would be a tough sell to the players in the room if there aren't other players coming in who can help right now. Arvidsson has been part of a very good second line and is third on the team in 5-on-5 points. Peeke has been more up-and-down, and the Bruins do now have a bit of a logjam on defense, but he is nonetheless fifth on the team in average ice time.
Whatever happens next, the Bruins have already done something many fans and media didn't think they could or would: They've made this season interesting. It will only get more intriguing when they return from this three-week break and try to hold onto this playoff spot they currently hold.
"We put ourselves in a good spot heading into the last 20-something games," Pastrnak said. "...Mentally regroup [over the break] and come back strong and be ready for a big run and hunt for the playoffs."