BOSTON — The Boston Bruins are a perennial playoff team but face the harsh reality that they may miss the postseason this year.
Just don’t tell defenseman Nikita Zadorov that.
“I’m not planning to miss the playoffs. I’m here to play playoff hockey,” Zadorov said after Boston’s 3-1 win over the Colorado Avalanche at TD Garden on Saturday afternoon. “I want to see Boston Garden buzzing in the playoffs. That’s definitely extra motivation for us, and you guys are doing a good job of writing us off, so that’s extra motivation so that’s extra motivation as well for this group. We’ve got a lot of characters. We’ve got a lot of people who want to compete and play on the big stages. That’s our mindset every day.”
The Bruins needed that mindset when they trailed Colorado through two periods before Morgan Geekie scored twice in the final 20 minutes to help earn them a valuable pair of points in the standings.
Boston is one of seven teams in the Eastern Conference battling for a wildcard spot, all of which are separated by just seven points.
The tight race combined with the lack of consistency from the Bruins has left some feeling this is a wasted season for the team without any certainty it will make the postseason. The Bruins front office is even weighing the idea of beginning a retooling process of the NHL trade deadline on March 7 by trading away current players for future assets.
That type would be enough for some teams to cut their losses. But not the Bruins, who’ve chosen to double down.
“We know our desperation level has to be higher than all the other teams because of where we are in the standings,” said Zadorov. “There are a lot of teams in the East pushing for a playoff spot. We see the message from the management as well. We got, what, 12, 13 games before March 7, and what, six games left before the break. We got to put ourselves in a good place in the standings to get a green light.”
Still, the Bruins are acutely aware of the uphill battle they face the rest of this season.
They know they are one of seven teams competing for just two spots.
They know they’ve put themselves in this position by enduring two lengthy losing streaks this season and cannot afford a third.
Despite all that, though, they still believe.
“There’s an endless belief in this room,” Jeremy Swayman said. “No matter what we’ve been through, we’ve always had a belief in each other, knowing that every one of us can step up at different times, even if it hasn’t gone our way. Guys have stepped up and really grown their game in the right direction. I think that’s a huge testament to our group and what kind of individuals we have in here.”
Swayman’s recent play is one of a few things giving the Bruins hope. So is the bubbling chemistry between Geekie and David Pastrnak, as they’ve combined for 25 points in their last seven games.
The Bruins will need a lot more if they’re going to continue to push for the playoffs.
But they already have all the belief in the world, and that’s half the battle.
