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Bruins had best regular season in NHL history, now time for Stanley Cup playoffs

NESN studio host and rinkside reporter Sophia Jurksztowicz shared her thoughts on the team's historic season and what's to come this spring.

BOSTON — If you watched any Boston Bruins games this season, you probably watched the team skate to a win, because the B's did a lot of that.

The Bruins' 65 wins and 135 points both set NHL regular season records. Boston will now turn its attention to the Florida Panthers as the two teams will meet in the first round of the playoffs, beginning Monday night.

Star forward David Pastrnak had the second most regular-season goals with 61 and the third most points in the league with 113.

Behind the net, Linus Ullmark had a 40-6 record, tied for the best mark in the NHL, and only allowed 1.89 goals per game, while saving nearly 94 percent of shots he faced. Both of those statistics were the best in the league.

Former University of Maine star goalie Jeremy Swayman also ranked in the top five in the NHL for Save Percentage and Goals Against Average.

But, Bruins fans have seen this story play out before. In 2019, the B's lost in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals in Boston. And in 2020, the team had the best regular season record in the league during the altered COVID-19 season before losing to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning in five games.

This season, however, there was a new vibe that those closest to the team could feel before games were even played.

“There was a different feeling, and you know, feelings are feelings, but it definitely showed up on the ice," NESN studio host and rinkside reporter Sophia Jurksztowicz said Saturday.

Jurksztowicz has been closely covering the team for years, but it didn't take too long to understand this season could be historic. She said she spoke to Bruins captain Patrice Bergeron recently who told her he knew things were different in the current locker room "pretty much right away."

“From the get-go, it was just like, 'OK wait, there’s something going on here, something special.' Then, of course, a new head coach, Jim Montgomery," Jurksztowicz said.

Montgomery is probably best known by Mainers as the captain of the legendary 1993 University of Maine national championship team. Now, he'll always be known as the "bench boss" for the greatest regular season team in league history.

"The players really give credit to [Montgomery] for not pushing them to be their best, [but] inspiring them. And I think that’s been the key. He talks about being positive, remaining positive, [and] encouraging them," Jurksztowic added.

She said while the players give plenty of credit to their coach, he constantly credits his guys in the locker room for their recent success.

Credit: AP
Boston Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery talks with his players during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Monday, Dec. 5, 2022, in Boston. The Bruins hired Montgomery at the start of the 2022 season as their new coach, giving the hockey lifer another chance at an NHL head-coaching job less than three years since he lost his first one. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)

“[He has] this positive, encouraging, great attitude, with not just with his players, but with everyone that’s in the organization,” Jurksztowicz said.

As part of NESN's postseason coverage, Jurksztowicz and the rest of the broadcast team will hold pre- and post-game shows for every playoff game moving forward and will have intermission reports during the first round.

She will also be airing feature stories on players during those broadcasts.

“I’m just hoping to humanize them and give them the credit of like, how much being an athlete is a focus and how much they're going to do their best to win, but to remind fans they have stories, too," Jurksztowicz added.

There are plenty of good stories to tell as a number of Bruins players recently welcomed their first child into the world or got married before the season started, she said.

“This is a dream for me, too," Jurksztowicz said. “It’s been really fun to be on the journey.”

The postseason journey begins when the Bruins and Panthers drop the puck at 7:30 p.m. on Monday.

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