{"id":570324,"date":"2026-03-28T16:36:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-28T16:36:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/570324\/"},"modified":"2026-03-28T16:36:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-28T16:36:10","slug":"bruins-among-many-teams-in-for-a-wild-ride-to-determine-nhl-playoffs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/570324\/","title":{"rendered":"Bruins among many teams in for a wild ride to determine NHL playoffs"},"content":{"rendered":"

Out West, the Avalanche and the Stars, the latter of whom visit Causeway Street on Tuesday<\/a>, have locked down two of the eight seeds. At the bottom of the pigpile, the Canucks were the first club officially eliminated from contention (right around Christmas, if I recall correctly), and we\u2019re safe to X out the Flames, Blackhawks, Blues, Jets, and Sharks. Regrettably, it appears we\u2019ll be denied seeing the brilliant Macklin Celebrini<\/a> in the Stanley Cup playoffs with San Jose for a second season.<\/p>\n

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Collectively, those six clubs will have logged 21 DNQs over the last five seasons. Reminder: Once knocked to the floor, it\u2019s a struggle to get upright in a 32-team league, no matter how the points are tabulated.<\/p>\n

In short, that leaves eight teams in the West to sort out six remaining seeds, albeit with the Kings and Kraken fighting long odds. The Kraken still have far too many holes in the roster, especially in the popgun forward corps, to be viable contenders. The Kings made the biggest deadline splash<\/a> with the acquisition of Artemi Panarin, but the Russian\u2019s wizardry (16 games, 7-11\u201318) had yet to conjure offensive miracles from a lineup that as of Friday morning had only Adrian Kempe (60) and Quinton Byfield (42) with better than 40 points.<\/p>\n

Post-Olympic break, the Kings finally ditched coach Jim Hiller, but had lost 8 of 13 (5-4-4) under interim boss D.J. Smith. They were 6-6-4 with Panarin in the lineup.<\/p>\n

\"ArtemiArtemi Panarin’s time with the Kings after being traded from the Rangers has done little to boost their chances in the West.Angelina Katsanis\/Associated Press<\/p>\n

The West will see the Ducks back in the playoffs for the first time since 2018 and the Mammoth, in year No. 2 in Salt Lake City, are on the cusp of ending a DNQ streak that dates to the 2020 Coyotes. And out of the mix for most of the season, the Predators somehow have managed their way realistically into the conversation. Quick, someone please bat out a country song for the loser point.<\/p>\n

In the East, weekend play began<\/a> with no one yet clinching a berth, but we can count the Sabres, Lightning, and Hurricanes as locks. The sigh of relief when it becomes official for the Sabres might blow down forests as far east as the Berkshires.<\/p>\n

The Rangers were the first to go \u201cX\u201d in the East. The next to be locked out will be the Devils, Maple Leafs, and two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Panthers.<\/p>\n

Though hopes are thin for the Flyers and Capitals, it\u2019s fair to count them among the nine teams still vying for the five remaining spots. Prior to pucks being dropped Friday, a mere 9 points (81-90) separated those nine teams in the standings.<\/p>\n

The bet here is that the Bruins jiggle their way into the eight left standing. The comeback win Wednesday in Buffalo<\/a> was huge. They were just over six minutes from being sent home pointless, which by Friday would have left them tied with the Senators (86 points) and but a pinkie-toe\u2019s hold on the No. 2 wild-card spot.<\/p>\n

The Red Wings, mired in the franchise\u2019s longest DNQ run, last week slipped out of the playoff structure, largely because of recent injuries to forwards Michael Rasmussen, Andrew Copp, and Dylan Larkin, the latter of whom returned to the lineup Tuesday after a seven-game absence (3-3-1).<\/p>\n

Only some 10 days prior to the Olympic break, Detroit was squarely in the mix with a 31-16-4 (.647) mark. They went on to lose 13 of their next 20 (7-9-4), left desperate to find a foothold.<\/p>\n

But season long struggles to score at five-on-five, combined with injuries and the general grind of a season, have virtually reduced the Red Wings to leaving it all up to No. 1 stopper John Gibson. He looked a cut below ordinary in recent back-to-back losses to the Bruins<\/a> and Senators. <\/p>\n

If the Red Wings miss the playoffs again, it will be their 10th consecutive DNQ, including all nine seasons in their cavernous and cushy Little Caesars Arena (construction cost: upward of $900 million). Steve Yzerman, once their baby-faced phenom at center, was hired on seven years ago<\/a> to be the rainmaker as general manager, but the interminable drip, drip, drip of losing hasn\u2019t ended.<\/p>\n

It has evolved as being all too reminiscent of the infamous Dead Wings era, 1970-83, when they qualified only once for the playoffs in a span of 13 seasons. Yzerman arrived as an 18-year-old in the fall of \u201883 and helped put a stop to that nonsense. The skating hasn\u2019t been the same for Stevie Y in the executive suite.<\/p>\n

Gibson, who came aboard via trade last June after a dozen seasons with the Ducks, hasn\u2019t been to the playoffs since 2018. Now he could be on the outside looking in again while Anaheim, benefiting from a very weak Pacific Division, could end up as one of the top two seeds in the West.<\/p>\n

BRIGHT BLUE JACKETS<\/p>\n

Bowness a good fit in Columbus<\/p>\n

The Bruins on Sunday again will see Rick Bowness, long ago their head coach, behind the bench in Columbus for a 5 p.m. faceoff vs. the Blue Jackets<\/a>. Bowness, 71, came out of a brief retirement in mid-January at the request of GM Don Waddell and has fashioned a dramatic turnaround that could lead to his being named the Jack Adams Award winner as the league\u2019s top coach.<\/p>\n

If he is honored with the \u201cJack\u201d, Bowness will be only the fourth coach to do so after taking over the bench with the season in progress<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The prior winners (and losers):<\/p>\n

\u25aa Bill Barber, Philadelphia, 2000-01. Barber took charge of the Flyers 28 games into the season and posted a 31-13-10 mark, then lost to the Sabres, 4-2, in Round 1 of the playoffs. He relieved Craig Ramsay (12-12-4), who then coached another 13 seasons as an assistant or associate (including 2007-10 for the Bruins under Claude Julien). He was John Tortorella\u2019s assistant when the Lightning won the Stanley Cup in 2004.<\/p>\n

\u25aa Bruce Boudreau, Washington, 2007-08. Boudreau was hired for his first NHL bench boss job 21 games into the Capitals\u2019 season and went 37-17-7. The push landed the team in the playoffs, where it was rubbed out by the Flyers, 4-3, in Round 1. Ex-goalie Glen Hanlon, 6-14-1 when replaced by \u201cBouds\u201d, never coached again in the NHL, but spent a year in the KHL (Minsk) and three years, including last season, in Austria (Bolzano).<\/p>\n

\u25aa Ken Hitchcock, St. Louis, 2011-12. The ever popular \u201cHitch\u201d took over the Blues only 13 games into the season and led a 43-15-11 charge with David Backes<\/a> as his top scorer. The Blues then were swept by the Kings in playoff Round 2. Onetime Bruins prospect Davis Payne was 6-7-0 when bumped off the job by Hitchcock. Payne has yet to be hired as a head coach again, but has worked every season since as an assistant, including stops in Los Angeles, Buffalo, Ottawa, and now Winnipeg.<\/p>\n

Waddell brought Bowness in midseason to replace ex-Whaler Dean Evason, who was 19-19-7 in his second season behind the Columbus bench. <\/p>\n

\"Weymouth'sWeymouth’s Charlie Coyle played parts of seven seasons with his hometown Bruins.John Tlumacki\/Globe Staff<\/p>\n

ETC.<\/p>\n

Coyle may be fit to return<\/p>\n

Similar to Sean Kuraly\u2019s return to the Bruins as a free agent last summer, it would not be a surprise here if Charlie Coyle is back in Black and Gold next season, depending on how the market bids up his services when the UFA period opens (only 93 days on the horizon).<\/p>\n

Coyle, 34, enters Sunday\u2019s game vs. his old teammates with a chance to set a career high in points, having found a comfortable fit pivoting the Blue Jackets\u2019 third line. It\u2019s the same niche he thrived in with the Bruins until the summer 2023 retirements of Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci<\/a>. Coyle then moved higher in the order in their wake, delivered a career-high 60 points, only to be wheeled out in last season\u2019s March deadline makeover.<\/p>\n

Solid citizen. Solid performer. Entered weekend play with 17-38\u201355 production. Did not utter a bad word when he was dealt to Colorado in the package that brought back center\/wing Casey Mittelstadt and Will Zellers, the high-end forward prospect wrapping up his freshman college season at North Dakota.<\/p>\n

Coyle\u2019s expiring six-year contract, written by GM Don Sweeney, carried a $5.25 million average annual value. His careerlong reliability and consistency could bring him four more years around that same number, though, as history has shown, bidding fever in July could bump the figure north or extend the term (similar to former Bruins teammate Brad Marchand\u2019s extension last summer in Florida<\/a>). <\/p>\n

Coyle, from Weymouth, ranks No. 10 for NHL regular-season games by players who grew up in Bay State rinks:<\/p>\n

Jeremy Roenick, Marshfield, 1,363 games.\u00a0Bill Guerin, Wilbraham, 1264 games.\u00a0Keith Tkachuk, Medford, 1,201 games.\u00a0Scott Young, Clinton, 1,181 games.Bob Carpenter, Peabody, 1,178 games.Tony Amonte, Hingham, 1,174 games.Hal Gill, Bolton, 1,108 games.Tom Fitzgerald, Billerica, 1,097 games.Mike Grier, Holliston, 1,060 games.Coyle, Weymouth, 1,022 games.<\/p>\n

Stow-bred Tom Barrasso played net in 777 NHL regular-season games. But that figure balloons to 1,039 when factoring in the 262 games he filled the backup role over the course of 19 seasons.<\/p>\n

Gasseau\u2019s decision to make<\/p>\n

The Bruins as of Friday had yet to come to contract terms with Boston College senior Andre Gasseau<\/a>, the 6-foot-4-inch center whom they drafted at No. 213 in 2021.<\/p>\n

It has been more than 30 years since the Bruins hit paydirt with a prospect selected that late in the draft. They had a few solid picks in the 200s in the 1980s and \u201890s, with examples being Bob Beers (No. 210 in 1985), Greg Hawgood (202 in \u201986), Gill (207 in \u201893) and John Grahame (229 in \u201994).<\/p>\n

Gasseau is one of 37 selections Boston has made at No. 200 or above since 1994. Only a couple had NHL careers of any duration. Matt Hunwick, chosen No. 224 in 2004, appeared in 535 NHL games, and Milan Jurcina, the Scoring Machina, was selected No. 241 in 2001 and logged 430 games in the NHL before moving on to European leagues for 11 seasons (the towering Slovak called it quits at age 40 with Sparta Praha after the 2022-23 season).<\/p>\n

Gill and Grahame have their names on the Stanley Cup, Gill with the Penguins in 2009 and Grahame with the Lightning in \u201804 after he logged 34 minutes as Nikolai Khabibulin\u2019s backup in Tampa\u2019s playoff run.<\/p>\n

Gasseau, if he prefers not to sign with the Bruins, has the option to declare free agency in September and sign with any NHL team. Per the collective bargaining agreement<\/a>, it\u2019s one of the advantages\/negotiating levers college kids gain when remaining true to their school for four years. <\/p>\n

\"TheThe Bruins drafted Tyler Seguin second overall in June 2010 and traded him to the Stars in July 2013.John Tlumacki\/Globe Staff<\/p>\n

The Stars remain without former Bruins center Tyler Seguin<\/a> in their lineup. Now 34, he tore up his right knee Dec. 2 in New York in a collision with Rangers defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov and underwent ACL surgery. Dallas doesn\u2019t expect Seguin back until training camp, just as he\u2019s entering the final chapter of an eight-year contract that carries a $9.85 million salary cap hit. Seguin has 826 points, the most of anyone in his 2010 draft class. As for goals, he is second (367) to Jeff Skinner\u2019s 379 \u2026 Sparta Praha, the Prague team for whom Jurcina wrapped up his career, is the same club where an unknown Zdeno Chara, then about to turn 19, played 16 games in 1995-96. Videotapes of some of those games were enough to catch the eye of Islanders scouts, who convinced GM Mike Milbury and his staff to, what the heck, take a flyer on the kid with the No. 56 pick in the 1996 draft \u2026 Record books have former Bruins and current Wild GM Bill Guerin playing 1,263 games, but he suited up for 1,264. Per the NHL stats department, he dressed for the Islanders\u2019 2-0 win over the Sabres on Feb. 28, 2009, but coach Scott Gordon never put him on the ice. Guerin, age 38, was dealt four days later and made his debut with the Penguins on March 5 \u2026 A name to keep in mind when the Bruins put out their unrestricted free agent bids on July 1: Blake Lizotte. The speedy Penguins left-shot center, 28, was visible on every shift when the Bruins lost in overtime in Pittsburgh<\/a> on March 8. He originally signed with the Kings as an undrafted free agent out of St. Cloud State, and was in Los Angeles for much of Marco Sturm\u2019s tour as an assistant coach. Lizotte is small (5-9\/175 pounds), but can scoot and shoot. Potential for 15-18 goals and maybe 40 points in a bottom-six support role. His current deal carries a modest $1.85 million average \u2026 If 40-year-old Alex Ovechkin is indeed calling it quits, it\u2019s possible he\u2019d make his final game April 12 in Washington against the Penguins, and skip the Capitals\u2019 season finale two nights later at Columbus. If the Capitals indeed do not make the playoffs (a second time in four seasons), it would be a proper sendoff on home ice for the goal-scoring legend<\/a>, particularly if lined up against fellow stars Evgeny Malkin and Sidney Crosby. Entering weekend play, Ovechkin\u2019s record goal haul stood at 926, after bagging yet another hat trick (No. 34) in a win Thursday vs. the Mammoth \u2026 Born Jan. 22, 1955, Rick Bowness was of a long-haired, freaky-people generation who listened to the music of the day on on LPs, 8-tracks, and reel-to-reel tape recorders (blindfolded, those of us of a certain age even today could thread that tape across the heads). The Blue Jackets coach remains an ardent Led Zeppelin fan, recently noting that if he mentions the classic \u201cStairway to Heaven\u201d artists to his charges, they don\u2019t have the slightest clue what he\u2019s talking about. \u201cI tell them, \u2018If you want to keep me out of your room, keep playing that music you play,\u2019 \u201d he said. Oh, yeah, the piper\u2019s calling you to join him. Once you buy into Zeppelin, everything else is just audio porn.<\/p>\n

Kevin Paul Dupont can be reached at kevin.dupont@globe.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Out West, the Avalanche and the Stars, the latter of whom visit Causeway Street on Tuesday, have locked…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":570325,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[556],"tags":[64,63,575,85],"class_list":["post-570324","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-nhl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/570324","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=570324"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/570324\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/570325"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=570324"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=570324"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=570324"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}