By Rafay Desautels
The Boston Bruins are having an amazing season so far. The team has 63 wins and 12 losses, and 5 overtime losses, as of April 10th. They have scored 131 points and are the leaders in not only the Eastern Conference but are number one in the entire National Hockey League. In 2nd place, the Carolina Hurricanes have 50 wins, 20 losses, and 9 overtime losses This is great news for Bruins fans because the last time they won the cup was in 2011. The Bruins have made it to the finals twice since then, once in 2013, and again in 2019, let's hope they win it this time. The Bruins' best player, David Pasternak, has scored 60 goals and has 49 assists for a total of 109 points, all within 80 games. This makes him the fourth highest point scoring player in the league this year.
The Boston Bruins have broken many records in achieving 63 wins. They are the first team in the history of the NHL to get 63 wins in the regular season. There is some controversy over this since the league has got rid of ties in the 2004 to 2005 season. In the current league, there are three 20 minute periods. If the two teams are tied then there will be one 5 minute period of 3 vs 3. If they are still tied after that, then they go to a shootout where each team takes turns going on a breakaway and continue until one team has more goals at the end of the round. In the past they would end the game after the third period.
There have been many other teams that have come close to the Bruins' season. In the 1995 - 1966 seasons the Detroit Red Wings had 62 wins, 13 losses, and 7 ties. The Tampa Bay Lightning had 62 wins,16 losses, and 4 overtime losses.
Despite the Bruins’ outstanding performance so far, their 63 wins doesn’t guarantee that they will succeed come playoff time. In the 1996 Stanley Cup Playoffs the Colorado Avalanche won, even though the Detroit Red Wings had an amazing regular season. In 2019, the St. Louis Blues beat the Tampa Bay Lightning even though Tampa had an almost record breaking season. This just shows that the playoffs are unpredictable and any team can win. Be sure to visit NHL.com if you are interested in the playoffs or the National Hockey League.