Going into Thanksgiving the Bruins were 10–6 on the season, which was good enough for fifth place in the Atlantic Division. In 2014, there was a report from the Associated Press that showed that from 2005 to 2014, teams in playoff position on Thanksgiving make the playoffs 77.3 percent of the time. Based on that stat, the Bruins appear to be in trouble because it will be nearly impossible for them to be in a playoff spot by then due to their awful schedule.
To be clear, it isn’t the strength of schedule that is burying the Bruins right now, it is the fact that they have only played 16 games to that point, whereas some other teams in their division have played 21! Last week, the Bruins rattled off two solid wins in a row and it felt like they might have some good momentum going. Unfortunately, due to poor scheduling, they had to wait six days before they could play their next game, killing any momentum they may have had. They did go on to win against the Philadelphia Flyers, but then got blown out 4–0 against the Calgary Flames.
One could argue that the veterans like Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, Craig Smith and Nick Foligno could benefit from the time off to recover and stay fresh, and that might be true. But at some point, the Bruins will have to make up those games and these days off are going to be few and far between. Especially in a season that already has the Winter Olympics smack dab in the middle of it, the condensed schedule that is about to hit the Bruins will undoubtedly be tough on those veterans.
It seems like the Bruins schedule was built to keep them fresh for the first month and then run them ragged in the last month. Despite having less points than teams ahead of the Bruins in the standings, they could potentially have a better winning percentage than the teams in the playoffs, based on their record. It is safe to say that the Thanksgiving stat won’t be as valid this season, as the coronavirus and the Olympics still have the schedule all out of whack.
In the Bruins’ first game after Thanksgiving, they faced off against one of the hottest teams in the NHL, the New York Rangers. The game was knotted up after two periods, but defensive breakdowns caused the Bruins to allow three goals in the third to lose. The Bruins remain in fifth place in the division and two points out of a wild card spot. However, the Bruins still have three games in hand and could be in one of those playoff spots in just a few games.
In the month of December, the Bruins will have a much better opportunity to get in a good groove as their longest break in that month will be four days on two occasions. Other than that, they play almost every other day including a back-to-back. By this time next month, we will really get a better idea of whether the Bruins are a true contender, or if they are a team whose window has officially closed.
Although April is still a long way away, it is vital that the Bruins are well above that playoff line going into that final month of the regular season. The Bruins will have to play five games in seven days in the final week of the regular season. After a long season which will include the Olympics, it would be ideal if the Bruins could rest their best players and gear up for the playoffs. If the Bruins are still fighting for a playoff spot going into the last week of the season, it would be hard to imagine they would make a deep run.