BOSTON — If you wanted to find a team not phased by hardships or tough losses, the 2019-20 regular season Boston Bruins may be your pick.
Let's take a quick rewind to last June.
It was another Stanley Cup summer in Boston. The Bruins were hosting the Saint Louis Blues in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals, trying to win the Holy Grail of hockey on home ice since 1939.
The game started with a buzz around the Boston Garden, the city, and New England, but two quick first period goals deflated the mood.
It didn't get better.
The Bruins lost 4-1 and spent the end of a beautiful June evening watching the Blues hoist Lord Stanley in Boston.
But there was no off-season crumble, or dramatic personnel moves made. In fact, this year's team was on pace to be better than last seasons, forgetting about the past as easy as that.
With 12 games left to go in the regular season, the Bruins had already hit the 100-point mark. When the new playoffs were announced, the Bruins were the top-seed in the round-robin qualifier, playing three games to determine the top four seeds.
When the Bruins took the ice for the first time since March, they lined up against the Philadelphia Flyers. One team played well, one did not.
The Bruins lost 4-1.
Like last year's Stanley Cup Finals' game 7, the qualifiers didn't get better.
Boston lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 after giving up a late third-period goal. In a battle for the third seed in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Bruins lost to the capitals 2-1.
Now, the fourth-seeded B's draw the Carolina Hurricanes, a team they swept in last year's Eastern Conference Final.
On Tuesday night, and for at least three more games, Boston will need to shake off its sluggish start to the postseason, like players and coaches shook off the 2019 Stanley Cup defeat.
On this team, it's easy to point out the guys that need to play well for the team to be successful. In fact, it's one forward line, made up of Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, and David Pastrnak.
Unsurprisingly the three led the team in points. Pastrnak with a league-best 50 goals and 95 points, Marchand with 87, and Bergeron tallied 56. The next Bruins forward recorded 43 points this year.
Through three games, the first line combined for one point, a Bergeron assist.
To help get this team back on track the line of 63-37-88 needs to find its mojo in the offensive zone after producing 42% of the offense in the regular season.
Good offensive and solid goalie play from Tuukka Rask will be required in these matchups against the Hurricanes as they just swept the higher-seeded New York Rangers in three games.
The Hurricanes and the Bruins want to forget how their seasons ended last summer. For the 'Canes, what perfect revenge it would be to eliminate Boston and gain some serious momentum in the playoffs.
For Boston, the only thing that can avenge last year's Game 7 is to get back to the Cup Final, but this time, win one more game.
