There are three days left in the regular season for the Boston Bruins, two if you're a fan of anyone else. With Montreal playing tomorrow night, a Habs loss and a Bruins wins in either of the two games guarantees the Bruins second place in the Eastern Conference. If Montreal wins tomorrow night, Boston needs to win one of the two games and at least head to overtime to lock up the division. 

With all that said, I looked at http://www.sportsclubstats.com/ and their updated stats regarding the Bruins first round opponent. Based on all of their statisical data, here are the potential playoff opponents for the Bruins: 

And after last night here's how the Eastern Conference shakes out: 

While the statistics at Sports Club Stats believe that Boston will play Ottawa (and I'm sure the final game between Boston and Ottawa has a lot to do with it), if the playoffs started today the black and gold would have a rough series with New York. 

Boston looked good last night. 

That feels weird to say when the last 5 out of 6 games have been utter dogshit for the Bruins, but last night they looked like a hockey team. Not everyone was clicking  and no, the top two scoring lines didn't produce a goal, but that's what happens when your depth really plays a pivotal role. I mean, we can dissect this game all we want and make excuses as to why Boston won. 

Yes, it's Tampa Bay. 
Yes, Boston is fighting for their division
Yes, Tampa Bay is currently 13th in the East

But based on the past 6 games, none of this should matter. What matters is that the Bruins grabbed two crucial points in a game they should have won, because Montreal also won last night. So hey, let's remain positive. Apparently all the Bruins needed was for me to tweet nice things about them yesterday, instead of the usual negative garbage that spews from my brain to my fingers to your eyeballs. 

But I have no reasons to really complain about last night's game. Hell, even Lucic showed up. 

So let's get into this recap's ass...

Wow. Just wow. Dougie Hamilton just pulled off what might be the biggest Seventh Player Award upset in recent memory. No idea how Daniel Paille didn't win it this year. Dougie's been good but Paille's been an absolute gem for the Bs this year, filling in for when the top Boston forwards take games off. Fact Pie didn't win it is just awful.

We're disappointed in you, Bruins fans.

Kinda awkward that the Seventh Player Award winner is a healthy scratch. Oops. 

Anywyas, we're not the only ones irked by Paille getting robbed.

Go buy a Daniel Paille shirt. He's the real 7th Player this season.

— Mike Miccoli (@MikeMiccoli) April 25, 2013

Outside of those first 3 games, Hamilton was pretty much exactly what I thought he'd be this year. Apparently the fans had low expectations

— Scott McLaughlin (@smclaughlin9) April 25, 2013

@pezdoy I like stickers.

— Dan (@dan8477) April 25, 2013

Danny, you're MY Seventh Player. #paillepact2013

— Victoria Welch (@vickievictoria) April 25, 2013

Wow. No offense to Dougie Hamilton, but Bruins fans once again making themselves look pretty silly w/ 7th Player. Daniel Paille, kids.

— DJ Bean (@DJ_Bean) April 25, 2013

I remember my first beer, voters.

— Ty Anderson (@_TyAnderson) April 25, 2013

Dougie 7th Player. Because he's popular with the gals or because #Bruins fans just wanted to thank Phil Kessel one more time?

— Matt Kalman (@TheBruinsBlog) April 25, 2013

WHY IS THE BRUINS FANBASE FULL OF FUCKING IDIOTS

— Caitie (@dear_gravity) April 25, 2013

HERE PIE I MADE U A TROPHY twitter.com/ItsMarchie/sta…

— amazing specimen (@ItsMarchie) April 25, 2013

Dougie winning the 7th player award is just a prime example of how idiotic this fan base has become since 2011.

— Dan Walker (@PlastikAvenger) April 25, 2013

Couldn't say it better ourselves, Walker.

3 games. 

3 regular season left before Boston heads into the NHL's second season. 3 games left to prove to the city of Boston that this team isn't the floundering mess they've shown the past 6 games or so. Tonight's game is a make-up game for Nemo. When these two teams were going to meet, this is what I wrote about Tampa: 

I'll be honest with you guys, this game scares the piss out of me. Tampa comes in tonight with the best offense in the NHL, scoring 4.20 goals per game! That's a ridiculous number when you consider that the number two scoring offense, the Blackhawks (who are on fire) "only" score 3.60 goals per game. 

The Lightning has scored four or more goals in six games this season, most of them coming in January, although they did throw an eight spot on the board against Winnipeg on February 1st. Lately it seems that their offense has tapered off, losing their last three games and scoring five goals in the process.

Funny how things can change in a little under two months. Now the Lightning, who were an offensive machine during that early run are still an offensive machine. Their goal scoring has dropped from 4.20 goals per game to now 3.13 per game, which is still good for third in the NHL. Per usual, the issue with the Tampa Lightning is their defense. They are bottom of the barrel in goals against per game, giving up 3.04 per game. 

They know their goaltending is an issue, because they gave up Cory Conacher for Ben Bishop, which was surprising because Conacher is a good offensive chip. The thing is, Bishop hasn't been great with the Lightning. In 9 games played, Bishop is 3-4-1 with a 2.99 GAA and a SV% .917, all lower than his numbers in Ottawa when he was traded. 

It could be because Ottawa is that good or because Tampa is that bad. Either way, both Anders Lindback and Ben Bishop aren't anything to about - but the Bruins have a habit of making subpar goalies look like Vezina candidates. 

As usual, the two guys to watch out for are Stamkos and Martin St. Louis. Stamkos career numbers versus Boston are scary. In 18 regular season games played he has 12 goals and 6 assists for 18 points but is a -7. This year Stamkos has 2 goals and 1 assist in 2 games versus the Bruins. St. Louis, while not as good career numbers (and a much larger sample size) has 15 goals, 19 assists and 34 points in 46 games. 

If Boston can somehow shut these two guys down and limit a decent power play, they should come away with the win. Tampa has nothing to play for, literally, and is probably trying to tank it to get a higher pick. Not saying that this will be a cake walk for Boston, but everything is set up tonight for a win. 

And a win is what Boston needs. The Bruins are fighting with Montreal for the 2nd spot in the Eastern Conference and the top spot int he Northeast Division. If both teams lose out, Montreal wins the division. Shit, Toronto still has a small chance at becoming the division champions. Winning is the only way they are going to win this division and potentially play Ottawa in the first round. Backing into the second seed by losing is not an option this year.

After the jump, the rest of the preview...

This Bruins team had a hot start when the season started and carried it throughout February. Suddenly the calendar turned and everyone talked about how March was going to be a meat grinder. 17 games in 31 days (before snow storms, etc) and it would prove if this team was a contender or a pretender. Now we're at the end of the regular season and this team is still fighting for the second seed in the Eastern Conference. 

That alone blows my mind because they've been fucking trash. From the top down, this organization has been ass this season. I guess we can start at the trade deadline. Acquiring Jaromir Jagr was the right move, obviously. The Bruins gave up (virtually) nothing to acquire Jagr and he's been the best player on this team. There's no denying it and there's no one you can make an argument for who has even been close to his caliber other than Tuukka Rask. 

Even though the Bruins acquired Jagr, Chiarelli didn't address every hole in the Bruins armor. Their biggest need was a defensemen. The numbers tell you that Boston is an excellent defensive team. They're currently third in the NHL in goals against per game with 2.20. This includes last night's 5 goal debacle against a Flyers teams where Luke Schenn was their top defenseman. While statistically the Bruins are one of the best defensive teams in the NHL, their defensive unit has made tons of mistakes that has caused their goalies to bail them out. 

It was noticeable when the Bruins were winning hockey games that there were some defensive issues. That was written on February 1st after the Bruins went 5-1-1 in January. In 7 games, there were multiple defensive lapses which led to Tuukka Rask or Anton Khudobin either having to make an amazing save or were hung our to dry. 

How many times have we watched the Bruins defensemen out of position? How many times has defensemen made blind drop passes behind the net only for them to be intercepted and then scored on. 

And then there was this: 

That incident last night is the perfect example of this Bruins team since March 1st - specifically their defensive group. 

After the jump...eh, whatever

First rule of Traveling Jagrs is "Root for Jagr":

You don't root for Boston. You don't root for Philly. You root for Jagr.

Jagr has 9 points in 10 games with Boston.

So remember when the Bruins beat the incredibly, incredibly awful Panthers and everyone was all like "WOOOO THE BRUINS ARE BACK ON TRACK" and then we pointed out that the Panthers are a giant steaming pile of horse shit, and people called us asshole pink hats on Twitter?

So umm... also remember last night when the Bruins got their asses handed to them by a Flyers team whose "best" defensemen was Luke Schenn? Yeah. Yeah.

Another game against a shitty team. This week would have been perfect for Boston - two games in five days against beatable opponents and Washington. It was a leisurely jog for a team that came off a crushing March and April schedule, but that's nothing now. Now it's four games in six days with a lot on the line. We're talking about division standings, playoff standings and post-season matchups. With a team that can barely handle the weight of their own elephant in the room (and we're not talking about Milan Lucic people), it's preposterous to think that they can handle the pressure of the next four games. 

And if you look at the schedule, it's not a hard one. Tonight the Bruins are in Philadelphia to take on the Flyers - a team that is currently in 12th place with no hopes of making the playoffs, a team that is under .500. They're a team that has under performed all season and the Bruins have a chance to not only put the nail in their coffin, but make a little headway on the Canadiens for the division. 

Offensively Philadelphia is good - at least when you look at the numbers. They're 11th in goals per game this season, which is higher than the Bruins. Their power play is 3rd in the NHL with a 22.1% success rate. Third! One of the worst teams in the NHL is actually pretty good offensively, which doesn't bode well for the Bruins defense. 

Not shockingly, the Flyers problems are in their own zone. They give up 3.00 goals a game, which is good for 25th in the NHL. Whether that's the fault of their defensive unit or Ilya Bryzgalov, or a combination of the two, they have definite issues back there. 

Speaking of Bryz, he's 54th in GAA with a 2.84 clip and has an even worse save percentage. He's 62nd overall (out of 81 goalies) and post a sub .900 clip. It's unreal how bad he's been given the amount of money he receives (like Lucic!). 

So of course you know what happens tonight right? The Bruins head into Philadelphia and poop their pants. It's just what this team does against shitty competition. For some reason, these aren't the Bruins we've watched over the past couple of years. The Bruins who went into the third period with a lead and held that lead. The Bruins that went into opposing barns and lit them on fire like poor Hershel's barn from The Walking Dead. 

Whatever happens, I hope Claude keeps Soderberg and Jagr together. They've been great, which really says something about Jagr. I know DOY has basically been cumming since April 1st about Jagr, but the guy has definitely had an impact on this team. He's made Gregory Campbell look like a top 6 forward. GREGORY. CAMPBELL. He's taken Carl Söderberg, Mr. SEL, and in two games has made him look (somewhat) comfortable in the NHL game. 

FINISH HIM...

We all know Alternate Captain Planet Andrew Ference is the greenest motherfucker on the face of the earth. And we know Shawn Thornton is a lover. But we didn't know Shawn's love extends to trees as well.

Video was tweeted out by the one and only Andrew Ference himself.

We have Alternate Captain Planet t-shirts in Mens and Womens for those who want to be part of Ference's Planeteers.

Be sure to check out National Geographic's webseries with Ference as he talks about living a Green Life. He's also tweeting out some Earth-friendly tips today (as he does on most days). One of the many reasons to love Ference.

Quite the turn around from Saturday's game from Sunday's game - although that's not saying much because Florida is terrible. If Boston lost to Florida, they should have just given up their playoff spot to Winnipeg and headed to the link early. Lets be honest with ourselves in regards to this game - Florida isn't Pittsburgh and Florida has trouble keeping the puck out of the net. Look at their last five games: 

4/11: 7-2 loss to Winnipeg
4/13: 3-1 loss to Pittsburgh
4/16: 5-2 loss to Islanders
4/18: 6-1 loss to Rangers
4/20: 6-2 loss to Devils

So it's not like Florida is coming in here on a winning streak. They're a shitty team with shitty goaltending - so what are you supposed to do to shitty team? Dominate them and that's basically what Boston did. 

After the jump, the meat and potatoes of the recap. 

Mmmm meat and potatoes.