Why Bruins will win 2024 Stanley Cup

The Boston Bruins have been one of the most consistent teams in the NHL for the last two decades. The Bruins clinched their most recent playoff appearance Thursday after losses by the Philadelphia Flyers and Detroit Red Wings, and they have earned a spot in the postseason in 15 of the past 17 seasons.

The Bruins have one Stanley Cup in that time and two other appearances in the Stanley Cup Finals. They have been at or near the top of the Eastern Conference standings throughout the current season, one year after their record-setting performance in the 2022-23 regular season.

The Bruins set NHL records for victories and points, and they went into last year’s playoffs as heavy favorites to win the Stanley Cup. Instead, they got bounced out of the playoffs in the first round by the Florida Panthers in seven games.

When veteran centers Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci retired in the offseason, most observers thought the Bruins would either miss the playoffs or barely sneak in as a Wild Card team. Instead, they remain an elite team and one that will be motivated to make up for the pain that came with last year’s shocking upset.

Bruins have talent, depth and hunger

Head coach Jim Montgomery has heard the pundits and experts talking about the strength of the Panthers, New York Rangers, Carolina Hurricanes, Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars and Vancouver Canucks all season.

Those are the teams that are “supposed” to come away with Lord Stanley’s chalice. However, the Bruins have been waiting for their opportunity to get back to the playoffs since their shocking defeat last April.

A quick recap of that series reveals that the Bruins nearly had it won at several points, but just couldn’t close out their opponents. The Bruins won three of the first four games, and when they came home for Game 5 in the series, a mistake in overtime by goalie Linus Ullmark led to the winning goal in overtime by Florida’s Matthew Tkachuk.

The Bruins had a 5-4 lead midway through the third period of Game 6, but they gave up three late goals and allowed the Panthers to force a seventh game. Boston had a 3-2 lead in the third period on a goal by David Pastrnak and held that lead until there was one minute left. That’s when Brandon Montour tied the game and Carter Verhaeghe followed with the shocking winner in overtime.

That moment has stayed with the Bruins all year. There is a burning hunger to get back to the playoffs, and there has been some encouraging moments. Start with the fact that they are 3-0 against those same Panthers this year. They have also been on top of their game when facing other Atlantic Division teams this season.

Bruins rely on Pastrnak, McAvoy, Coyle, Marchand and goaltending

David Pastrnak is clearly one of the game’s top superstars. While he may not rank with Conner McDavid or Nathan McKinnon, Pastrnak has shown he can take over any game with his vicious slap shot from the elbow, his well-placed wrist shot and his much-improved playmaking ability. Pastrnak has 45 goals and 101 points with eight games remaining in the season.

Charlie McAvoy (10 goals, 34 assists) is a highly skilled and physical defenseman who fits in the Bruins mold. He is not as offensive minded as Cale Makar or Adam Fox, but he has a wicked slap shot and can dominate with his heavy body checking.

Coyle has stepped up this year following the retirement of Bergeron and Krejci. Strong and tenacious, Coyle excels at maintaining possession of the puck and creating key offensive plays. Coyle has scored a career-high 23 goals and 55 points and has shown he can man the role of the team’s top-line center

Brad Marchand has moved smoothly into the captain’s role previously manned by Zdeno Chara and Bergeron. While his goal scoring has dipped in recent weeks, he is second to Pastrnak with 27 goals and 63 points and has continued to show his trademark feistiness whenever a physical edge is needed.

Goaltending and X-factors

During the Bruins record-breaking run a year ago, they got the best goaltending in the league from Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman. While that area remains one of the team’s strengths, there has been some slippage since the All-Star break.

They will need one or both of the goalies to get back into top form when the postseason gets underway.

The Bruins cannot just ask their stars to come through in the playoffs. They will need players like Jake DeBrusk, Pavel Zacha, Trent Frederic and Hampus Lindholm to come through with big goals and other game-defining plays at key moments.

The Bruins acquired Patrick Maroon at the trade deadline, and while he has been out with a back injury, he should be back for the postseason. He has had a career of huge moments in the postseason, and the Bruins are hoping he can reprise that role this spring.