By virtue of their 4-1 win over the hapless Sabres on Saturday afternoon at TD Garden, the Bruins (54-18-9) earned the Presidents' Trophy (best record in the NHL) for only the second time in team history. Neither the game against Buffalo (21-51-9) nor tomorrow's regular season finale in New Jersey (likely Martin Brodeur's last game) are relevant since the B's won't see either in the postseason.
Their focus shifts to Detroit (38-28-15) who they will meet in the first round of the playoffs, probably starting on Thursday in Boston. They couldn't have picked a tougher eighth seed since the Red Wings were 3-1 against the B's in the regular season and outscored them 15-7.
The only real news to come out of Saturday's game for the B's is that it appeared Daniel Paille suffered his third concussion of the season. Ugh, poor guy. That would be a sneaky big loss since everyone knows how valuable Boston's fourth line can be especially come playoff time when few teams can match their abilities. Plus, it also means that worthless Jordan Caron would be in the lineup and nobody wants that.
Boston will be not only the favorite in the Eastern Conference but in the NHL as a whole heading into the postseason. Anything can happen but they are in very good shape to get back to the Stanley Cup Final for the second year in a row and third time in the last five years. Cross our fingers that they get through the game with the Devils unscathed. There is no reason to test their depth any further when it matters most.
UPDATE 4/13: Game 1 is Friday at TD Garden (7:30), Game 2 is Sunday afternoon (3, yes Easter Sunday) in Boston then Game 3 is Tuesday (7:30) in Detroit and Game 4 is Thursday (8) in the Motor City.
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