Gritty Bruins Win ‘Emblematic’ Of Stanley Cup Playoff Expectations

BOSTON — It isn’t normal for a team to dominate the regular season and enter the Stanley Cup Playoffs as the overwhelming favorite to win it all.

Yet again, the Bruins aren’t a normal team.

Boston has kept a torrid pace throughout the year, putting itself on track to break the NHL record for wins and points in an 82-game season. Things were no different Tuesday, as the Bruins built their winning to four games with a win over the Ottawa Senators at TD Garden.

The victory was led by the effort on special teams, where they held the Senators to an 0-for-3 night on the penalty kill and scored one of their two on the power play.

Some might even say that the win was “emblematic” of what’s to come for the Bruins as they enter the postseason.

“That’s a big word for me,” Brad Marchand joked postgame. “Yeah, I think it is. We felt we did a really good job in the third period of beating off a goal and controlling the reads. We didn’t give them much.

“Those are the things we can build on now to prepare for playoff time. Games are going to be tight (with) momentum swings and we’re going to need special teams to come up big throughout the game. You’ve got to be able to control leads and take over games. I think we did a really good of that tonight. Those areas were really good.”

Marchand had a big role in the victory, lending a helping hand on Jake DeBrusk’s game-winning goal late in the first period.

The Bruins’ special teams units haven’t been great over the last month or so, and had every right to take a dip with the absence of star penalty killer Derek Forbort, but got back on track in their latest victory. The process of keeping the train rolling is going to be paramount as they attempt to make another run at the Stanley Cup.

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