Here's How the Bruins Can Clinch the Presidents' Trophy Tonight
There's not much more that the Bruins can accomplish, besides a Stanley Cup of course, but tonight, they can clinch the Presidents' Trophy as the NHL's best team.
As they've reiterated, regular season accolades mean nothing to the players, however, a Presidents' Trophy could always be an amazing reminder of how special the 2022-23 season has been.
How the Bruins Can Clinch Tuesday Night
Boston has already clinched an early playoff spot (18 games remaining), first in the Atlantic Division (10 remaining) and now can secure top spot in the regular season standings with eight games remaining.
Here's how, according to Matt Porter of the Boston Globe:
''The combination of a Bruins win (vs. Predators) and Hurricanes regulation loss (vs. Lightning) clinches the Presidents' Trophy and home-ice advantage for the playoffs.''
With a 57-11-5 record, the Bruins can clinch the NHL's best record for the second time in the last four seasons, as they went 44-14-12 for 100 points in the pandemic shortened 2019-20 season. This would be the fourth Presidents' Trophy for the franchise after also winning it in 1989-90 (46-25-9, 101 points), and in 2013-14 (54-19-3, 117 points).
However, the biggest concern is the infamous ''Curse'' that comes with winning it; most notably, the 2019-20 Lightning team that tied the NHL record of 62 wins and went on to get swept by the Blue Jackets in the first round of playoffs.
Joe Haggerty of Boston Hockey Now broke it down:
''Since the President's Trophy was established in 1985-86, only five President Trophy winners have gone on to win the Stanley Cup. The 1986-87 Edmonton Oilers; the 1993-94 New York Rangers; the 2000-01 Colorado Avalanche; the 2001-02 Detroit Red Wings, and the 2013 Chicago Blackhawks, who beat the Bruins in six games in the 2013 Stanley Cup Final.''
It would tie for the third fastest that a team has clinched the President's Trophy in league history:
***The 2001-02 Red Wings are also the only team to clinch the trophy in 75 games or fewer and go on to win the Stanley Cup.
| POLL | ||
MARS 28 | 134 ANSWERS Here's How the Bruins Can Clinch the Presidents' Trophy Tonight Will the Bruins be able to avoid the President's Trophy Curse? | ||
| Yes | 114 | 85.1 % |
| No | 20 | 14.9 % |
| List of polls | ||
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