A look at some truly absurd stats from Bruins' ridiculous regular season
BOSTON -- Calling the 2022-23 Boston Bruins a wagon is an understatement. They were more of a steamroller equipped with spikes, crushing and demolishing just about anything and everything that stood in their way throughout the regular season.
Now, they hit the playoffs with their name etched atop a number of slots in the NHL record books. While the goal is to have their names etched on the Stanley Cup by postseason's end, the regular season dominance of the Bruins is nothing to scoff at.
So as we await Boston's first-round series against the Florida Panthers, it's a good time to look at some of the truly eye-popping statistics that these Bruins compiled since October.
The Records
The Bruins finished the season an absurd 65-12-5, setting a new NHL record for wins in a season. Their 135 points were also a new NHL record for regular-season play.
League-Best Goal Differential
The Bruins scored 305 goals (second-most to the Edmonton Oilers) and gave up just 177 goals thanks to the stellar play of Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman. Boston's plus-127 goal differential was tops in the NHL this season.
However impressive that figure is, it's nowhere near the best in NHL history. It's not even the best in Bruins history. The 1973-74 Bruins had a plus-128 goal differential, and the 1977-78 Bruins had a perverse plus-192 differential. Both of those teams lost in the Cup Finals.
But no one is ever touching the 1976-77 Montreal Canadiens. That team had a plus-216 differential en route to their Stanley Cup title -- over the Boston Bruins.
Going Streaking!
The Bruins' longest winning streak of the season was 10 games, spanning from Valentine's Day to March 4. The streak improved Boston's record to 49-8-5.
The B's also closed the regular season on an eight-game winning streak, and had three separate seven-game win streaks. They also won six straight at one point, and had a pair of four-game win streaks as well.
And talk about closing the season on a hot streak. Boston won 26 of its last 30 games heading into the playoffs.
On the flip side, the team lost three in a row just once, when the Bruins dropped four of five from Jan. 26 to Feb. 11. (Their 10-game win streak followed.)
Early Clinchers
Boston needed just 64 games to clinch. Believe it or not, that isn't even an NHL record.
That belongs to the 1995-96 Red Wings, who are the fastest team in NHL history to clinch a playoff spot, doing so in just 59 games. The 1998-99 Dallas Stars were also a bit quicker than these current Bruins, clinching a spot in the postseason in just 63 games.
Fastest To 50
Boston notched its 50th win of the season in just 64 games, becoming the fastest team to the 50-win mark.
That happened on March 11. Last year, the Bruins didn't win their 50th game until April 26.
A Bunch Of Homers
The Bruins were an NHL-best 34-4-3 at TD Garden during the regular season. Those 34 home victories are tied for the second-most in NHL history, behind the 36 home wins by the 1995-96 Red Wings and the 1975-76 Philadelphia Flyers.
Road Warriors
Boston tied the NHL record for road wins in a season (31), shared with the 2005-06 Detroit Red Wings.
No Points For You
There were 16 teams that went winless against the Bruins during the regular season. Eight of those teams didn't even earn a point against Boston.
Lots Of Pasta
David Pastrnak had the best season of his career with 61 goals (second in the NHL) and 54 assists (tied for 24th). His 113 points were the second-most in the league this season.
Pastrnak is just the second 60-goal scorer in Bruins history, joining Phil Esposito, who accomplished the feat four times. Espo is atop the B's record book thanks to his 76-goal season in 1970-71.
More Than Just Pasta
There was a lot more on the menu for the Bruins offense than just Pasta. Boston had a dozen other players accumulate 30 points this season.
Four other players scored at least 20 goals: Patrice Bergeron and Jake Debrusk both had 27 goals, while Brad Marchand and Pavel Zacha tallied 21.
Brad Marchand was the team's second-leading points man with 67 (21 goals, 46 assists), while Bergeron (58 points), Zacha (57 points), David Krejci (56 points), Hampus Lindholm (53 points), Charlie McAvoy (52 points), and Debrusk (50 points) all hit the 50-point threshold.
That's some balanced dominance at work.
Net Dominance
The Bruins were obviously dominant in the net as well, with Ullmark the favorite to take home the Vezina Trophy this summer. It shouldn't be much of a debate, after Ullmark went 40-6-1 and led the NHL with a .938 save percentage (19 points better than Colorado's Alexandar Georgiev) and a 1.89 goals against average to claim the goalie triple crown.
His backup was just as good, as Swayman went 24-6-4 with a .920 save percentage. The duo (and Keith Kincaid for one game) combined for a .931 save percentage on the season, which was a full 10 points lower than the .921 from New York Islanders netminders.
What a 1-2 punch in net for the Bruins.
Thumbs Up For Monty
Jim Montgomery was a magic man in his first season on the Boston bench. His jovial approach had everyone happy to head to work, and it showed on the ice.
The 65 wins for Monty in his first season are obviously a Bruins team record. It also crushed the record for most wins by a coach in their first season with the B's, which was 57, set by Tom Johnson in 1970-71.
