BOSTON — The Bruins were asked about last year’s postseason collapse to start the season in October. They were asked about it again this week as they get set for the post-All-Star stretch run. Spoiler alert: people are going to ask about it again before the start of the playoffs.
The Bruins aren’t seeking the conversation, but they’re not avoiding it either. But even though like last year, they have the best record in the Eastern Conference and are tied for the best mark in the NHL, Boston arrived here via a different path.
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“The two seasons are completely different. We’ve faced adversity this year. We’ve had to grow and mature and get better. Last year was as smooth a season as you’ll ever see,” Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said Monday. “What we can learn from it, we’re already learning and toughening up from that.”
Charlie McAvoy agreed.
“It’s just a different team. The goals are the same. You want to gear up,” he said. “You want to build and you want to get to the playoffs playing your best hockey.”
At 31-9-9, the Bruins are actually well past the halfway point of the 82-game slate, but they’ll start the metaphorical second half of the season with seven straight home games beginning Tuesday against Calgary at 7 p.m.
Bruins captain Brad Marchand was eager to get back on the ice.
“This time of the year, everything picks up. You start playing for real. It gets harder every few games. Teams start thinking about playoff spots and all that,” he said. “Best time of the year. Looking forward to getting back at it.”
The Bruins have been good all year but took a noticeable step forward after their four-day mini-break at Christmas. They’ll have had nine full days off since beating the Flyers, 6-2 on Jan. 27 when the puck drops against Calgary. They’re hoping for another boost.
“Since Christmas we’ve really found our identity,” Montgomery said. “That was the focus of the whole video session this morning. Trying to get better at what we think we’re really good at.”
Marchand said the Bruins aren’t worried about earning the No. 1 seed. They simply want to get into the playoffs and to be playing well when they do.
“It’s about building your game and every night putting a game together that can allow you to win. That’s what you build towards. Especially come playoff time, if you’re playing your best hockey you set yourself up for success,” he said. “If you ever look at the standings and feel you’re in a good spot, then you’re in trouble. Every team that’s fighting for a playoff spot is going to be playing their best hockey come playoff time. You don’t want to get caught in that game.
“We just have to make sure we don’t slip at all, don’t get comfortable. It’s very easy when you win a lot of games to feel like if you had a bad game and still win, you’re like ‘Ah it’s O.K. we won.’ At this point of the year, it’s not about winning, it’s about how you win and how you lose,” Marchand added. “It’s about having that accountability. We expect to be perfect every day. We’re not going to be, but if you strive for that you’re going to have a lot of good days. We have to look at ourselves in the mirror every day and make sure we’re holding ourselves to that standard.”
Marchand said they’ll take lessons from last year, but won’t be consumed by them.
“Last year it was kind of the perfect storm to go against us. You don’t want to look into it too much. It just kind of unraveled there at the end,” he said. “We’re in a good spot, a position we want to be in at this time of year. We want to finish strong.”
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