Can win vs. Panthers, Zadorov's fight with Bennett spark Bruins?
Can win vs. Panthers, Zadorov's fight with Bennett spark Bruins? originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Even though it's been a very disappointing 2024-25 NHL season for the Boston Bruins, they have earned a few really good wins — the types of victories that made you think the team was about to go on a real run and string together a bunch of positive results.
But too often this season, the B's have been unable to sustain that momentum. One step forward and then two steps back, essentially.
Could Tuesday's impressive win over the Florida Panthers finally provide the spark the Bruins need to make a push for the Stanley Cup Playoffs?
The Bruins were trailing the Panthers 2-0 in the third period, then they made a remarkable comeback to tie the score at 2-2. Mason Lohrei, who is clearly relishing his increased role, scored a nice goal on Panthers netminder Sergei Bobrovsky to even the score. The young defenseman showed tremendous patience before firing his shot.
Silky stuff there, 6️⃣ pic.twitter.com/McAXLbxB4L
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) March 12, 2025
David Pastrnak has been league's best player since Jan. 1 with a league-leading 44 points (20 goals, 24 assists) over that span, and he added two more points Tuesday with a goal to get the B's on the board and the primary assist on Pavel Zacha's go-ahead tally with 3:17 left in regulation, which ended up being the game-winner.
PAVEL ZACHA IN THE CLUTCH!! 🐻 pic.twitter.com/Y5b4PZIcCn
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) March 12, 2025
But the real highlight of the night was Nikita Zadorov demolishing Sam Bennett in the final minute of the game. The Bruins defenseman had enough of the Panthers forward's antics and took care of business with an entertaining fight.
BENNETT AND ZADOROV DROP THE GLOVES IN THE FINAL SECONDS pic.twitter.com/fx9ZcSkn0T
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) March 12, 2025
This is part of the reason why the B's signed Zadorov to a six-year, $30 million deal in free agency last July. His energy is contagious. He sets a physical tone. He stands up for his teammates. He drags his teammates into the fight, both literally and metaphorically. He also picked up an assist, tallied five hits and blocked two shots in a team-leading 22:48 of ice time.
So, what are the chances the Bruins actually make a push for the playoffs?
They've just beaten two of the hottest teams in the league — the Lightning and Panthers — in their two games since dealing away a bunch of veterans, including captain Brad Marchand, before last Friday's trade deadline. After getting rid of a bunch of good players, the Bruins were not expected to play this well, especially offensively. But they've scored seven goals in the last two games against two top-tier opponents.
But the key to whether the B's remain in the playoff mix through the end of the regular season is Jeremy Swayman. It's no secret the 26-year-old goalie has played well below expectations this season. It didn't help that he missed all of training camp and the preseason because of a contract dispute, which ended just before Opening Night when he signed one of the richest goalie contracts (eight years, $66 million) in league history.
If Swayman can play at a top 10 goalie level, which he's been at for much of his career prior to this season, then the Bruins will have a chance to get into the postseason.
Entering Wednesday, the B's trail the Ottawa Senators by five points for the first wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. They trail the Columbus Blue Jackets by two points for the second wild card spot. Boston has played two more games than both Ottawa and Columbus.
One factor worth considering is that three of the four teams ahead of the Bruins in the wild card race — Senators, Blue Jackets and Montreal Canadiens — have very little experience playing meaningful games this late in the season. How will they handle the pressure? The Bruins, meanwhile, have a lot of experience playing meaningful games, given their league-best eight-season playoff appearance streak.
The Bruins also will have plenty of chances to pick up points over the final 16 games. They have the sixth-easiest remaining schedule of any team, per Tankathon.
The Bruins are still a long shot to make the playoffs. MoneyPuck's analytics model give the B's just an 8.5 percent chance to get into the postseason.
But if Tuesday's comeback win was any indication, this Bruins team isn't going to go down without a fight. They are going to give everything they have until the final game. Whether that'll be enough to make the playoffs remains to be seen, but it's an encouraging sign for the organization that the players are still pushing to achieve one of their biggest goals.
'All the guys since Friday have been showing up ready to work, ready to work their balls off, and play for the crest,' Zadorov told reporters postgame.
'There's no quit in this team. We're going to keep pushing until the end. We're just trying to build the momentum we haven't had all year. I think you get a couple wins, you start feeling great, you feel confidence inside the group, I think that's a good thing. Something is brewing, for sure.'
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