Collapse of Boston Bruins, NHL's Greatest Regular-Season Team Chokes in Playoffs

by Eric Fulton

Florida Panthers celebrate upsetting Boston Bruins in NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs. Screenshot

Yet another team with a historic regular season does not end that season as the champion of its league. By now, all sports fans should know that the regular season and the playoffs are not the same. The 2022-2023 Boston Bruins completed the greatest regular season in the history of the National Hockey League.  They won 65 games during the regular season for a total of 177 points. They were the only team to have a goal differential of over 100 (+128 with the next closest team: Dallas Stars having 67). Of the Bruins’ 65 wins, 54 came in regulation.

So, what exactly went wrong for the Bruins to have a historic regular season and not be able to get out of the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs? While some picked Boston to win it all, recent history has shown that the best team in the regular season does not end up winning hockey’s ultimate prize. The Bruins’ opponent in the first round, the Florida Panthers, made the playoffs in the 81st game of the season as the last spot in the Eastern Conference. The fact that Boston was hardly tested throughout the regular season on its way to the Stanley Cup Playoffs whereas Florida was in playoff mode late in the regular season may have played an impact in the historic loss.  

The historic Bruins regular season was led by all-star forward David Pastrnak. Pastrnak led the team in goals, assists and points (61 goals, 52 assists, 113 points), has been one of the best players in the NHL the last few years and is also a finalist for the Hart Trophy (NHL MVP).  Emotionally, Boston is led by two veteran leaders, Brad Marchand and team captain Patrice Bergeron. Both players were a key part of the team’s 2011 Stanley Cup championship run and were also a part of the 2013 and 2019 teams that made the Stanley Cup Final. In goal, Linus Ullmark had a career year as the main starting goaltender. Ullmark won 40 games for Boston, with a 1.89 goals against average, and a .938 save percentage. Backup goalie Jeremy Swayman won 24 games and had more shutouts than Ullmark (4 for Swayman, 2 for Ullmark).

It seemed like the first round would be good for Boston, but when you do not have many meaningful games to play late in the regular season, the focus of the team can be off. Injuries were also a factor, including Bergeron, who missed three games of the series against the Panthers. It also did not help having the backup goaltender start in game 7 as Ullmark did not play in the winner take all game.  The Bruins did have a chance to eliminate the Panthers in at least five games with a 3-1 series lead. Florida finished 43 points behind Boston in the regular season point standings. That was the second-largest point differential in a series upset behind the 1982 Los Angeles Kings, who upset the Wayne Gretzky-led Edmonton Oilers (Edmonton had a 48-point lead over Los Angeles at the time of that series).

Prior to the Bruins’ first-round collapse was another historic regular season team that surprisingly lost in the first round. The 2018-2019 Tampa Bay Lightning dominated the NHL regular season winning 62 games, which was the NHL record before Boston broke it this season. Unfortunately, the Lightning became the first Presidents’ Trophy winner to get swept in the first round of the playoffs when they lost to the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Lightning would recover from that abrupt end by participating in three straight Stanley Cup Finals, winning back-to-back in 2020 and 2021.

I don’t know if the Bruins will accomplish that feat. There is a possibility that Bergeron will retire and the question as to whether or not Ullmark can be a consistent number one goaltender. While the 2019 Lightning collapse was historic, what can we say about this collapse by the 2023 Bruins if the team they lost to makes it to the Stanley Cup Final and win? As of the publication of this article, the Panthers are one win away from making the Final. Maybe this year’s Bruins could be the ultimate regular season disappointment in terms of having a historic regular season, only to lose it unexpectedly. No matter how the rest of the playoffs pan out, Bruins players, coaches and fans have got to be asking, “What if?”