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The Boston Bruins made history this season by becoming the only team to have 63 wins in the regular season. The "Black and Gold" achieved this feat last Sunday against the Philadelphia Flyers in a 5-3 win at Wells Fargo Center.
David Pastrnak capped off the regular season with 61 goals and 52 assists, becoming the first Bruins player since Phil Esposito (1974-75) to score 60 goals in a season.
The Bruins' 58th win of the season gave the team's fourth Presidents' Trophy as the NHL's top seed. The Presidents' Trophy curse refers to the team that wins the award only to underperform in the playoffs.
Since the trophy's inception in 1985, only eight teams have gone on to win the Stanley Cup after winning the Presidents' Trophy. Conversely, several teams have been eliminated in the first round of the playoffs after winning the trophy.
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The Bruins will heavily depend on the likes of David Pastrnak, Patrice Bergeron, and Linus Ullmark to reciprocrate their regular-season form in the NHL playoffs. Bergeron is questionable for Game 1 against the Panthers as he missed two consecutive practices with the team. Pavel Zacha, coming off a career-high 57 point regular season, looks to be in prime form to fill Bergeron's shoes.
Boston Bruins face off against the Florida Panthers
The Florida Panthers were last season's Presidents Trophy winners. They made some changes over the summer and have now brought in Matthew Tkachuk. Florida have won six of their last eight regular-season games to secure the Eastern Conference's second Wild Card spot.
The Boston Bruins will be looking to shut down the likes of Brandon Montour and Matthew Tkachuk, both of whom have had stand-out seasons for the Panthers. It will be a challenge for Dmitry Orlov, Charlie McAvoy, and Hampus Lindholm to keep the Panthers' offense in check.
The Boston Bruins are the No.1 seed and hence have home advantage in their first round of the playoffs. Game 1 will air on Monday, April 17th, 7:30 p.m. ET at TD Garden, Boston, with live broadcasts on ESPN, SNE, SNO, SNP, CBC, and TVAS.
The Boston Bruins looked unstoppable in the regular season. However, some worry that they may have used up their energy and another team who wants it more will manage to pull them down and prove the Presidents Trophy curse to be true.
