If we're being honest here (which is what I strive for besides entertaining the unwashed masses), the Bruins didn't really deserve to win the Northeast Division this season. They were so terrible down the stretch that even though Montreal was in the same boat, the Canadiens won their last game (4-1 on Saturday night in Toronto) while the Bruins couldn't hold up their end of the bargain as they lost 4-2 to the Senators tonight at TD Garden.
The makeup of the Patriot's Day game against Ottawa and the final game in the 2013 NHL regular season determined that the Bruins will be the No. 4 seed which still means that they get home ice at least in the first round. Game 1 is Wednesday at the Garden and Game 2 is Saturday, times TBA.
Not winning the division probably won't mean much because facing Toronto (the No. 5 seed) rather than the Islanders (No. 8 seed) or Senators (No. 7 seed) somehow feels less daunting. Still, if Boston (28-14-6) continues to play like this (3-5-2 in their last 10 games) with two goals in seven of their last eight games, then the opponent they face is ultimately meaningless.
With the margin for error so small when you're scoring two goals or less, the B's really put themselves in a bind as Eric Condra gave Ottawa a 1-0 lead on a rebound at 16:59 of the first period then Jared Cowen's blast from the point at 10:33 of the second period found its way past Tuukka Rask (18 saves).
The B's showed some life as Rich Peverley beat Robin Lehner (34 saves) with a power play goal at 19:56 of the second period. Peverley's sixth goal of the season was assisted by Wade Redden (4th assist) and Dennis Seidenberg (13th assist). Redden's stretch pass allowed Peverley to use his speed along the boards and his low shot beat Lehner to the far post. Plays like that are why you'll see Redden in the lineup when the playoffs begin, not all the Bruins defensemen have that ability to make those types of passes/plays.
Seidenberg tied it up only 14 seconds into the third period with a top-shelf rocket past Lehner. Milan Lucic (20th assist) and Kaspars Daugavins (3rd assist; 1st point as a Bruin) had the helpers on Seidenberg's fourth goal of the season. Lucic is starting to look like himself again, he had a major heavyweight bout with Chris Neil late in the first period.
Boston had to win in regulation to face the Islanders or in OT/shootout to get a rematch with the Senators so Jean-Gabriel Pageau's (great name by the way) game-winner at 16:26 ultimately decided the first round matchups in the Eastern Conference. Kyle Turris scored an empty-netter with 37 seconds left to send the crowd streaming toward the exits like it was a Lakers playoff game.
The good news for the B's is that they can erase all the mediocre play of the last month with a strong showing in the playoffs. I still stubbornly believe that they can beat anyone in the East, except maybe Pittsburgh. They went 3-1-0 against Toronto in the regular season which I get is meaningless now but the Maple Leafs (who hadn't made the playoffs in 9 years) shouldn't scare anyone if the Bruins show up and play their style complete with more than two goals a game.
UPDATE 4/29: Game 1-Bruins vs. Leafs, 7 p.m. on Wednesday; Game 2-Bruins vs. Leafs, 7 p.m. on Saturday; Game 3-Bruins at Leafs, 7 p.m. on Monday; Game 4-Bruins at Leafs, 7 p.m. on Wednesday.
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