2023 team report cards: Bruins stunned after historic season
When the 2022-2023 season began, the Boston Bruins were dealing with a number of injuries. With those injuries, people doubted whether or not this team had what it would take to contend for the Stanley Cup.
Well, the B’s got off to a hot start, got healthy, and never looked back. No team in the history of the NHL secured more standings points or wins than this Bruins team. They not only won the Presidents’ Trophy, they became the best team the league had seen in the regular season.
Boston then drew the Florida Panthers in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs in a series that was sure to be quick. It was not.
How will this Bruins season be remembered?
The Bruins watched a 3-1 series lead fade and ultimately fell in Game 7 in overtime. The loss is a crushing one for several reasons.
First, their record-setting year is now all for not. Sure, the ride that they and their fans were on this season will never be forgotten, but it also makes the early playoff exit that much more difficult to handle.
Second, captain Patrice Bergeron almost didn’t play this season. David Krejci came back after not playing the year before. This campaign had a “one last ride” feeling to it, so the way that it came crashing down so suddenly is even more devastating.
There’s been so much said about Boston’s regular season that there’s really nothing left to say. It was a truly incredible season. With as fresh as this playoff defeat is, there is still a lot to be processed and sorted out before it can fairly be judged.
For as much fun as it is to watch a historic season, a lot of pressure comes with it once that team gets to the playoffs. That pressure was too much for the Bruins against a Panthers team that had no pressure at all in this series.
Overall, Boston went 65-12-5 (135 points) in the regular season only to lose in round one, four games to three.
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How does one judge a season that was so dominant and yet so disappointing? The Bruins would get an A+ if we were talking only about the regular season and probably an F if we were only discussing the playoffs. Where does that leave their grade?