The Boston Bruins could have history in their sight this week, as the team looks to break the record for most wins recorded in a regular season.
Currently, there is a two-way tie for the all-time record at 62 total wins. That is held by the 2018-19 Tampa Bay Lightning and 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings.
The Bruins can tie the record with two wins of any kind as early the end of the week, as it will play the New Jersey Devils and Toronto Maple Leafs.
Those are of course two playoff teams so that will not be an easy task.
But after that, the Bruins will have three more games to either tie it or break the record.
Now the question becomes, does this really matter if the Bruins don’t win the Stanley Cup? Of course, most fans and players will tell you that the only thing that matters is winning a championship.
Should the Bruins fail to win the Stanley Cup it would leave at best leave a bitter-sweet feeling.
Now let’s not disregard the Bruins level of dominance this season, as only three other teams have recorded 60-plus win seasons in NHL history.
But the only team to win the Stanley Cup was the Montreal Canadiens in 1976-77 when it went 60-8-12 in the regular season.
Another obstacle the Bruins have is the team that wins the President’s trophy, which is awarded to the NHL organization with the most points in the league during a single season, rarely goes on to win the Stanely Cup.
The winner of the President’s Trophy has only gone on to win it all in the same season just eight times in history.
The 2012-2013 Chicago Blackhawks were the last team to accomplish that.
A big reason why the top team does not win it all is the unpredictability of the sport.
For example, goaltenders can steal a game even when a team doesn’t play at its best.
The Florida Panthers were a victim of this last year when they were swept by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the second round.
Goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy posted an insane .981 save percentage in four games.
So that’s always possible for the Bruins, which could very well run into the Lightning in the second round should it beat the Leafs.
But the best thing the Bruins could do is make sure the team is as close to full health as possible come playoff time.
Included on the team’s injured reserved list are wingers Taylor Hall and Nick Foligno.
Both Hall and Foligno are making progress and have returned to practice – but it’s unclear if both will be ready to play come the opening night of the playoffs.
Also, centers Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci are listed as day-to-day.
So instead of rushing them back and trying to set history, the Bruins would be wise to keep them all out of action until they are 100% healthy.
Again, a 60-win season is already impressive enough.
