The Boston Bruins are on pace to set a NHL record that might hurt them
By Jim Lynch
During the 1995-96 NHL season, the Detroit Red Wings went 62-13-7, setting an NHL record for wins in a single season. Beating that record could come at a cost for the Boston Bruins this season.
The Boston Bruins are on pace to set a record that might hurt them.
The Boston Bruins have won 38 games this season after they beat the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday night. As of this writing, they have a record of 38-5-4, an incredible feat that is truly remarkable.
They currently are on pace to win 66 games this season, which would be above the 62 mark established in 1996. The Tampa Bay Lightning also won an incredible amount of games a few seasons ago when they tied the 62 wins in 2019, which brings me to why the Bruins might not want to hit this win total.
The 2019 Lightning and 1996 Red Wings have one thing in common besides their win total, both teams failed to win the Stanley Cup.
For the 2019 Lightning, they were swept in the first round against the Columbus Blue Jackets. While they did go on to win back-to-back cups the next two seasons, the year they won 62 games, the Lightning were done after round one. Not only did the Lightning lose, but they also fail to win a game during the playoffs. The 1996 Red Wings had a bit more success.
The Red Wings beat the Winnipeg Jets in round one of the 1996 playoffs. Then they beat the St. Louis Blues in seven games before losing to the Colorado Avalanche in the Conference Final.
Despite setting NHL records in wins during the regular season, both of these two teams fell short of the Cup.
The Boston Bruins are an incredible team that will go into the record books if they keep playing this way. However, once the playoffs start, every team begins the postseason with the same 0-0 record, and if history shows us anything winning the Presidents’ Trophy and putting up this many points doesn’t guarantee a Stanley Cup parade win summer comes around.
The last team to win the Stanley Cup, having won the Presidents’ Trophy, was the 2013 Chicago Blackhawks. Since the 2005 lockout, only two teams have won both trophies in the same year. While this season has been great for Boston, the playoffs are where things start to really matter.