By: Jake Ferraro | Follow me on Twitter/X @18Jxxx18
Today, the Boston Bruins are behind the New England Patriots for the AFC Championship against the Denver Broncos. Like the Bruins, the Boston Red Sox and Boston Celtics are rooting for the Patriots to reach Super Bowl 60.
It’s very common for the majority of people in New England to root for all four professional sports teams in Massachusetts. Current Bruin players David Pastrnak and Charlie McAvoy were in a recent Patriots hype video for the AFC Championship, and Bruins legend Zdeno Chara was at the Patriots’ Divisional Playoff win last week. However, with the Patriots playing in another AFC Championship, it’s a reminder of the playoff woes the Bruins have endured that still sting, and wondering when the team will get back to the big stage again.
In 2011, the Bruins ended their 39-year Stanley Cup drought by defeating the Vancouver Canucks in seven games. However, since the Bruins’ 2011 Stanley Cup championship, the Red Sox, Patriots, and Celtics have won at least one championship. The Red Sox won two World Series titles (2013, 2018), the Patriots won three Super Bowls (2014, 2016, 2018), and the Celtics won one NBA Finals (2024). Twice since 2011, the Bruins lost the Stanley Cup Final. The Bruins fell to the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2013 Stanley Cup Final and fell to the St. Louis Blues in the 2019 Stanley Cup Final.
2019 is the year to point out for both the Bruins and the Patriots. In the 2018-19 National Football League season, the Patriots won their sixth and most recent Super Bowl. After the Bruins lost the 2019 Stanley Cup Final, legendary quarterback Tom Brady played his final season with the Patriots. Brady joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers ahead of the 2020 season. Not many would be sure how long it would take the Patriots to be knocking on the door again. Now, the Patriots are one win away from a Super Bowl appearance. Since losing the 2019 Stanley Cup Final, the Bruins have seen great regular season success, but failed in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Bruins won the Presidents’ Trophy in 2020, but fell to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the second round. In 2021, the Bruins fell in the second round of the playoffs again, this time to the New York Islanders. In 2022 and 2023, the Bruins fell in the first round of the playoffs, but 2023 is the year that stings so badly in Bruins history. The Bruins won the Presidents’ Trophy for the second time in four seasons, while setting the NHL record for most wins (65) and points (135) in a single season. However, despite having 44 more points than the Florida Panthers heading into the first round series, the Bruins blew a 3-1 series lead and lost the series when Carter Verhaeghe scored the overtime winner against Jeremy Swayman in Game 7.
In 2024, the Bruins fell to the Panthers again in the playoffs, but this time in the second round. Last season, the Bruins missed the 2025 playoffs. For a team that made the playoffs every season from 2017 to 2024, the Bruins missing the 2025 playoffs was a shocker to most Boston fans.
The Patriots in the AFC Championship this season serve as another bitter reminder to the Bruins not getting close to making a Stanley Cup Final. Since the 2019 Stanley Cup Final loss, the Bruins have yet to make the Conference Finals. Meanwhile, the Celtics have made the Conference Finals four times (2020, 2022, 2023, 2024), the Red Sox have made one ALCS appearance (2021), and now the Patriots reached an AFC Championship before the Bruins made a Conference Finals appearance.
This season has been a rollercoaster of both good and bad for the Bruins. The Bruins can get really hot, then get really cold. Currently, the Bruins are hot, winning eight of their last nine games. Last night, the Bruins defeated the hated Montreal Canadiens 4-3 in a comeback win at TD Garden to win their 30th game of the season.
With the win last night, the Bruins hold the second Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference with 62 points, and are now one point behind both the Canadiens and Buffalo Sabres for a top-three spot in the Atlantic Division. With the hot nine-game stretch and holding a playoff spot in the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Bruins can use the Patriots’ AFC Championship appearance as motivation for the remainder of this season.
Leave a Reply