NHL final day set, Bruins clinch
The NHL regular season wraps on April 16 and playoff seeding is being finalized on the final day, with six games affecting positioning and draft lottery order. (bleacherreport.com) Boston clinched the first wild‑card spot in the East with a Tuesday win and could face the Sabres depending on final seeding as the postseason is set to start April 18. (nesn.com) (nhl.com)
Boston locked up the Eastern Conference’s first wild-card spot on Tuesday, and the Bruins now open the Stanley Cup Playoffs against Buffalo. (nhl.com) The Bruins clinched with a 4-0 win over the New Jersey Devils at TD Garden on April 14. Jeremy Swayman made 21 saves, Mark Kastelic scored twice, and David Pastrnak reached 100 points. (nhl.com) That result settled Boston’s seed in the East and fixed the first-round matchup: Buffalo, the Atlantic Division champion, versus Boston, the top wild card. The Sabres’ team site said Buffalo will have home ice in that series. (nhl.com 1) (nhl.com 2) The National Hockey League’s regular season ends on Wednesday, April 16, with six games still affecting seeding and draft lottery order in the final hours before the bracket is fully set. The playoffs are scheduled to begin on Saturday, April 18. (bleacherreport.com) (nesn.com) Boston’s path tightened quickly over the last week. On April 11, the National Hockey League said the Bruins were still fighting for position with six days left in the season; by April 14, a regulation win was enough to secure wild card one and the Buffalo matchup. (nhl.com 1) (nhl.com 2) The Eastern bracket around Boston is now mostly in place. The National Hockey League’s home page listed Hurricanes-Senators, Penguins-Flyers, Canadiens-Lightning and Bruins-Sabres as the first-round series after Tuesday’s games. (nhl.com) For Boston, the clincher also ended the uncertainty over whether the Bruins would draw Buffalo or another Atlantic opponent. NESN had reported before Tuesday’s game that Boston’s seed and opponent were still in motion even though the club had already returned to the postseason. (nesn.com) Now the final day is less about whether the Bruins are in and more about when the series starts and how the rest of the field falls into place before April 18. Boston’s first task is already clear: win on the road against a Buffalo team that finished first in the Atlantic. (nhl.com 1) (nhl.com 2)
