Bruins become first team in NHL to clinch playoff berth this season
BOSTON -- It's only early March, but the Boston Bruins have already clinched their spot in the NHL playoffs.
Jim Montgomery's club making the playoffs has felt like a foregone conclusion since... late October? David Pastrnak, Patrice Bergeron, and Linus Ullmark (among many, many others wearing the Spoked-B) are on an absolutely absurd run this season, and became the fastest team in NHL history to reach the 50-win mark Saturday afternoon with a 3-2 win over the Detroit Red Wings.
Mix that win with Saturday evening's New York Islanders loss to the Washington Capitals, and you can officially put an "X" next to Boston in the NHL standings.
Clinching a playoff berth in just 64 games is impressive. But believe it or not, it's not an NHL record.
It's actually only good for the Bruins to claim the title of third-fastest team to clinch a playoff spot in an 82-game season. The 1998-99 Dallas Stars clinched a playoff spot in 63 games, while the 1995-96 Red Wings are the fastest team to qualifying for the playoffs, doing so in just 59 games.
That Detroit team finished the regular season with a 62-13-7 record for 131 points. It did not, however, win a Stanley Cup that year, losing in the Western Conference Finals in five games to the eventual Cup champion Colorado Avalanche.
The 2022-23 Bruins will look to write a much different ending to their season. They improved to 50-9-5 with Saturday's victory with 18 games remaining in the regular season.
