By: Evan Michael | Follow me on Twitter @00EvanMichael
I don’t care how many showers there are in April. The only way figurative flowers will bloom for the Bruins in May is if our beloved boys in Black N’ Gold avoid any more scheduling mischief between now and the post season.
Speaking of that mischievous May schedule — the one that keeps on changing and being altered thanks to COVID protocols, player health and league-wide NHL-TV times — here are some of the important dates to Mark On Your Bruins Calendar right now before it’s too late!
BACK-TO-BACK (TO BACK?) VS BUFFALO
The Bruins have the ability to end the month of April and start the month of May with back-to-back W’s against the lowliest of NHL teams, the Sabres, who have been doing everything in their power to put the “low” in Buffalo these past two months.
Even Jack Edwards couldn’t resist the chance to impress upon the B’s how vital it was to beat the living wingdings out of the Sabres all year long for Boston to extend its year into late May and beyond.
And with the possibility of a make-up game being scheduled against Buffalo either before or after this, the B’s chances of ending the season with six nearly guaranteed points against the Sabres would certainly be celebratory.
DOUBLE DOSE OF DEVILS
But before the uncorking of a playoff-bound celebration in the B’s locker room can take place, Bruce Cassidy will have to find a way to line up a winning lineup (twice, mind you) against a team that’s been bedeviling the Bruins all season so far: New Jersey.
Boston plays two in a row on the road versus the Devils on May 3rd and May 4th, a back-to-back affair that could truly be backbreaking unless the B’s break their losing streak to the other bottom-feeding NHL team in their division.
This will be easier said than done considering that no one besides Boston’s top line of David Pastrnak, Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron can seem to put the puck past a Devil’s goaltender (with the so-called Perfection Line struggling to do the same twice previously). So, even settling for a split in these games could feel like a momentously moving May moment for the Bruins!
New York, New York (New York)!
If the B’s want to start spreading the news about leaving for the playoffs, then they’ll have to wrap up the 2021 abbreviated season by beating the plucky Rangers at the Garden on the 6th and 8th of May.
As of right now, these are the final games scheduled for Boston but it appears the other New York team the B’s struggle against (yes, Buffalo is in New York but thankfully the B’s have beaten them) may add more fuel to the calendar fire.
That’s right, the Islanders may end up playing the Bruins right after they take on the Rangers IF the game is warranted (i.e. will the two points make a difference in the standings). With how tight the MassMutual East Division is looking right now for the “Top Four” teams AND with the B’s having multiple games in hand at the moment, this game could very well be a HUGE factor in determining playoff seeding.
And not just for the Bruins and Islanders, but also the Flyers and Capitals. If there’s anything the Bruins have learned after losing every play-in game last year, seeding matters. And ANY team can win on any given night in this new NHL.
In short, buckle up B’s fans because the month of May — even with only a handful of games — may just be a make-or-break month of hockey for Boston. So definitely mark them all on your calendars. Dare I say, hopefully we’ll see a showering of praise for the playoff-bound Bruins right after!
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