What looked like a scheduled loss less than a week ago suddenly became very interesting for the Bruins on Thursday night.
Boston’s playoff odds were already slim last week — with the Bruins’ decision to trade off Brad Marchand, Charlie Coyle, Brandon Carlo, and two other lineup regulars further signaling the team was ready to wave the white flag on a disappointing 2024-25 campaign.
But after a reshuffled roster posted back-to-back regulation wins over two of the top teams in the Eastern Conference in the Lightning and Panthers, Thursday’s road matchup in Ottawa once again held seismic playoff implications.