With an overtime win over the Tampa Bay Lightning last night, the Boston Bruins were able to take sole possession of the third seed in the Atlantic Division. The Bruins now have 95 points through 71 games, which puts them one point ahead of Tampa Bay and three points behind Toronto for the second seed. Last night’s game was the final matchup of the regular season against Tampa Bay as the Bruins won the season series with a 3-1 record over the defending and back-to-back Stanley Cup Champions. The Bruins have 11 games remaining on the schedule. Unfortunately for the Bruins, it’s not an easy road to the playoffs as eight of those games are against current playoff teams, including one final matchup to end the season against Toronto.
Lindholm Not Spotted at Practice
Earlier in the day, the Bruins took to the ice in Washington to get a practice in before their matchup with the Capitals tomorrow at 1:30 pm EST. After the Bruin’s practice, two key takeaways came from it, as once again, Hampus Lindholm was missing from the ice. The top-end blueliner exited Tuesday night’s game against Detroit with an injury that already has had him miss one game and looks to have him lined up to miss tomorrow’s matinee. The good news for Bruins fans is that if this injury were more serious, more information would be available, and Lindholm wouldn’t be listed day to day. Earlier in the week, head coach Bruce Cassidy was somewhat optimistic that Lindholm would return to the lineup during Boston’s road trip. Still, it doesn’t look hopeful with the final game tomorrow before the Bruins return home. The Bruins return home on Tuesday for a three-game home stretch where the Bruins hope to have Lindholm back; the important aspect is that the Bruins aren’t looking to rush Lindholm back and let him rest and heal up ahead of the playoffs when Boston needs him the most.
Ullmark Gets the Nod for Back to Back Starts
The second major announcement that came from today’s practice was the announcement that goaltender Linus Ullmark will get his second straight start tomorrow after coming off a stellar performance last night in Tampa Bay. Ullmark had 28 saves in the 2-1 overtime win as he pushed his win streak to six straight, improving his overall record to 23-9-2. After a rocky start to the season, Ullmark has become a man of consistency as he’s been a significant part of Boston’s winning ways over the last two months. The 6’4″ Swede has gained the trust of Bruce Cassidy as he is being trusted to go back to back in two critical matchups as the Bruins look to get every win possible as they close out the regular season and shift to playoff time. Come playoffs Bruce Cassidy will have a very tough decision to make as he must decide which goaltender to roll with as his two goaltenders have been trending in different directions lately, with Ullmark being the one on fire. Ullmark will look to win his seventh straight start tomorrow and give Boston more of a cushion over Tampa Bay and hopefully catch the red hot Toronto Maple Leafs for second in the Atlantic Division.
