The Boston Bruins hit the ice on Wednesday night against the Anaheim Ducks knowing it was all over. With 69 points in 72 games they are 5 points out of the 2nd wild card spot in the East. This is a big drop off for a team that has been in the playoffs since 2015-16.
A Deadline That Changed Everything
The Bruins fall from contention wasn’t a surprise given how they approached the deadline. They were 3rd in the Atlantic on January 1 and then fell out of the playoffs.
General manager Don Sweeney made the tough decision to go into rebuild mode and that means the end of an era. Key veterans like Brad Marchand (Florida Panthers), Brandon Carlo (Toronto Maple Leafs), Charlie Coyle (Colorado Avalanche), Justin Brazeau (Minnesota Wild) and Trent Frederic (Edmonton Oilers) were traded for draft picks and prospects.
That’s basically waving the white flag on the season and maybe the near future. For a fanbase used to playoff runs and deep playoff pushes it’s a tough pill to swallow.
Underdogs Against Another Rebuilding Team
Wednesday night the Bruins faced an Anaheim Ducks team that hasn’t seen the playoffs since the 2017-18 season. Like Boston, the Ducks are in a rebuild so this game was more about evaluating young talent than immediate results.
According to StatMuse, the Ducks have been underdogs in 66 of 70 games this season. Despite their struggles, the odds had the Ducks favored going into the game against Boston. The lines shifted slightly after the first post and the Bruins are now +115 and the Ducks -135 (via ESPN BET). You can still take the Ducks -1.5 for +185 if you think Anaheim is going to blow them out.
Puck drop in Anaheim was at 10 p.m. ET so this was expected to be a low stakes game between two teams looking to the future.
A Reality Check for Bruins Fans
For Bruins fans who suffered through the lean years before the Bergeron, Chara and Rask era, this season feels all too familiar. Those good times seem so far away now and have been replaced with uncertainty and questions of how long it will take to rebuild.
Head coach Joe Sacco has a tough job navigating this transition and keeping morale up. It’s not an easy task especially when you consider how spoiled Bruins fans have been the last decade.
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