Are the Bruins Ready for the Playoffs?
The Bruins currently only have six games left on the schedule and have 88 points on the season. That is good enough to make the playoffs right now but boy is it nerve wracking. The Bruins are three points up on Detroit and have one game in hand so you could say it will come right down to the finish on who makes the playoffs. Hope you all enjoy having fingernails now because I guarantee they will all be bitten off by the time the season is over.
Out of the six remaining games, four of the six do not sit in a playoff spot. Road games in St. Louis and Chicago will for sure be a test but are winnable games. The Bruins will need to win 4 or 5 of the next 6 games to get safely into the playoffs, depending on how Detroit handles their games of course. They control their own fate if they can win 5 of them so lets hope they take that option.
John-Michael Liles has looked very good since joining the Bruins post trade deadline. He has fit in very well on the second pairing with Dennis Seidenberg. Liles did not finish the game against Florida on Thursday and did not make the trip to Toronto while getting evaluated with a lower body injury. We do not yet have a timetable for his return, but it is known that we need him back on that second pairing ASAP if you want to make it in the playoffs.
The Bruins right now sit three points away from a non playoff spot. It freaks me out every time I say that because we were once sitting on top of the Atlantic division and all was well with the world. Then that California trip happened and we lost five straight. We all had to go 12 days without a Bruins win and it was slowly killing me watching them blow it faster than the Yankees in the 2004 ALCS. They rebounded well with a win against Toronto and need to keep the winning up if they hope to be playing in the playoffs.
April 7th is a date you should have circled on your calendar, as Detroit comes to town as our second to last game. That game could be if we get in or not so it is kind of important. I need to see playoff hockey this year. I missed it way too much. If we do not make it, this will be me all summer.
Follow Andrew Parker on Twitter @AndrewwParkerr