The Bruins players went out and played arguably their best game since the Olympic break after the NHL trade deadline had come and done, and perhaps that wasn’t a coincidence for the Black and Gold.
There were no big additions to a group that’s already played their way into a wild card playoff spot this season, but there were also no subtractions to a group of players that have shown character, resilience and toughness that wasn’t there a year ago. It didn’t mean that the Bruins didn’t try to make moves, of course, as they finished as the runner-ups for the services of Rasmus Andersson prior to the Olympic break, and they were definitely in the running for forward Connor Garland before he ended up getting moved to a Columbus Blue Jackets team chasing them in the standings.
But the B’s showed all of their positive qualities while claiming a 3-1 win over the Washington Capitals, a group that’s chasing them for a playoff spot, at TD Garden on Saturday afternoon, and protecting their two-point cushion for a postseason spot. And afterward, they voiced their appreciation to Bruins management for keeping their group together and allowing them to push their way into the Stanley Cup playoffs sooner than perhaps most thought they would.
“Listen, we love each other in the group. I think everybody’s speaking pretty openly the whole season about the group of guys we have in the room, and how much we love each other on and off the ice,” said David Pastrnak. “And management feels the same way. So there was nothing to help the group, it just proves that they have trust in us.
“We are a good group out there and we work for each other every night, and we just need to keep it going.”
Certainly the answers to addressing their woes on the road and the penchant for taking penalties are going to have to come from the same group of players, but there isn’t a lot of uncertainty about the weak spots to be improved with this team.
It remains to be seen if a young player like
