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The Boston Bruins blew the chance to become a dynasty

By Alex Hoegler

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - JUNE 12: Zdeno Chara #33, Patrice Bergeron #37 and Brad Marchand #63 of the Boston Bruins await to shake the hands of the St. Louis Blues after losing Game Seven of the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Final at TD Garden on June 12, 2019 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - JUNE 12: Zdeno Chara #33, Patrice Bergeron #37 and Brad Marchand #63 of the Boston Bruins await to shake the hands of the St. Louis Blues after losing Game Seven of the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Final at TD Garden on June 12, 2019 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Brian Babineau/NHLI via Getty Images /

Lost opportunities

Entering their 2011-12 title defense season, the Bruins core remained fairly young. Patrice Bergeron had just turned 26. Brad Marchand and Milan Lucic were both 23. Tyler Seguin was turning 20 in January. David Krejci was 25. Nathan Horton was 26. Chara was 34 but showing zero signs of slowing down. Thomas (37) was nearing the end of his run, but a 24-year-old Tuukka Rask was waiting to eventually take over as the starter.

The Bruins won their second straight Northeast Division title with 102 points, good for the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference. However, they were upset by the Washington Capitals in the opening round of the playoffs.

Joel Ward scored the overtime winner in Game 7 to put Boston’s potential dynasty on hold. Losing to a major underdog obviously hurt the Bruins, but they had all the right pieces in place to win another championship in 2012-13.

In a lockout-shortened 48-game season, Boston locked down the fourth seed in the East. They pulled off a thrilling comeback against the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 7 of the opening round. Then they pummeled the New York Rangers in round two, before sweeping the top-seeded Penguins in the Eastern Conference Final. That set the stage for a showdown with the Blackhawks for the Stanley Cup.

Related Story. 3 Free Agents The Bruins Must Sign This Offseason. light

So, what happened? The Bruins fell 3-2 in the series and headed back to TD Garden in Game 5. They led 2-1 with less than 90 seconds to play. Bryan Bickell tied the game with 1:16 left. 17 seconds later, Dave Bolland shocked all of Beantown by scoring the game-winning goal. With that, the Bruins missed out on a potential Game 7. Once again, their bid at a second championship with this star-studded core went on hold.

That would be as close as the Bruins would come for a while. The next five seasons were full of frustration:

  • 2013-14: The Bruins won the Presidents’ Trophy with 117 points, but they lost a tight seven-game series to the arch-rival Montreal Canadiens in round two. The series ended with a heartbreaking 3-1 loss on home ice.
  • 2014-15: The Bruins drop their final three games to finish with 96 points, two behind the eighth-seeded Penguins.
  • 2015-16: Boston drops nine of their final 12 games to miss out on the postseason. It concludes with an ugly 6-1 home loss to the lowly Ottawa Senators.
  • 2016-17: The Bruins finish third in the Atlantic Division with 95 points, but the Senators eliminate them in six games. All six contests were decided by one goal, and four went into overtime. This was a series that the Bruins had every chance to win.
  • 2017-18: A hot second half earns Boston 112 points, and they finish second in the Atlantic. After getting through Toronto in a close seven-game series, the Bruins bow out to the top-seeded Tampa Bay Lightning in five games.

This season, propelled by an improbable 19-game point streak, the Bruins finished with 107 points to earn the second seed in the Atlantic. Same old song and dance. They polish off Toronto in the first round. With Washington, Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay all eliminated in round one, the path is there for Boston to win the east.

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