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Bruins lose control of playoff destiny in Florida defeat

Josh Cooper
SUNRISE, FL - APRIL 9: Head coach Claude Julien of the Boston Bruins looks at the scoreboard near the end of the third period against the Florida Panthers at the BB&T Center on April 9, 2015 in Sunrise, Florida. The Panthers defeated the Bruins 4-2. (Photo by Joel Auerbach/Getty Images)

Imagine a playoff world without the Bruins.

Outside of Boston, this includes rainbows and kittens. In Boston it’s probably more like sheer horror. The Bruins lost 4-2 to the Florida Panthers in Sunrise, Florida – potentially dooming the Bruins’ playoff hopes. Boston has 95 points with one game left and currently occupies that horrible piece of real estate as the last team not in the Eastern Conference postseason picture.

The Pittsburgh Penguins have 96 points and two games remaining. The Ottawa Senators have 97 points and one game left. With the loss (coupled with an OT defeat by Montreal) the Red Wings made the playoffs for the 24th straight time. Huzzah Hockeytown and all things gross tasting pizza that probably isn't pizza but looks like pizza.

Anyway, back to the Bruins.

From CSN New England

The Bruins have said for days that they took confidence from the fact that they controlled their own fate.That is no longer the case after the Bruins dropped another “meh” game to the Florida Panthers...

Granted, it’s not that Boston was that horrible down the stretch. They’ve gone 5-3-2 in their last 10. But Ottawa has been lights out, and has completely changed the dynamic in the East. The Bruins – who could have clinched Thursday, now need help just to make the postseason.

Said coach Claude Julien via Big Bad Blog:

“It’s still not too late. You’ve got to win the next game and hope that you get some help and move forward here. We can hang our heads here all we want, but the bottom line is that we’ve got to regroup and think about winning ourselves a hockey game the next game, because if not, then I’m disappointed in all of us for not thinking that way.”

According to the Boston Globe, the Bruins found out about Ottawa’s 3-0 win over the Rangers before the start of the third period when the game was tied 1-1. Things then changed dramatically for the Bruins.

“Pretty decent position: Tied going into the third in an opponent’s building is always a good spot to be in,” (forward Brad) Marchand said. “It just seemed like we [had a] lack of focus, dedication to the game, and it ended up costing us.”

Jonathan Huberdeau put the Panthers up 2-1 at the 4:02 mark of the third period, and then Brad Boyes  made it 3-1 at 8:03.

The Bruins did score first at the 15:02 mark of the second period. before the Panthers made it 1-1 at 18:40 of that frame.

Julien seems to be questioning his current group's mettle, via the Boston Herald:

Asked if he was surprised at the way his team, one that had come through in clutch situations so many times before, would have such a game at such a time, Julien sounded like he most definitely was not.

“I don’t think we have the same team as we’ve had in the past. You guys can talk about that. Have a look: The roster is not the same, so we can’t live in the past,” said Julien.

It may indeed take prayers for the Bruins to make the postseason. And quite a few other scenarios added onto Boston’s Saturday game against Tampa.

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Josh Cooper is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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