The Bruins' win over the Capitals came with some good news regarding the standings.
The Boston Bruins picked up a hard-fought 3-2 shootout win over the Washington Capitals on Saturday. It was a nice bounce-back effort from the Bruins, as they fell to the San Jose Sharks in their previous game by a 4-2 final score.
Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman warrants some big-time praise, as he stopped all nine shootout attempts he faced. Bruins youngster Fraser Minten then scored the shootout winner for the Black and Gold.
This shootout victory also came with some good news for the Bruins. With it, the Bruins jumped ahead of the Detroit Red Wings in the Eastern Conference standings and now hold the top wild-card spot. This came with the Red Wings losing in overtime to the Dallas Stars on Saturday.
While the Bruins and Red Wings now both have 80 points, Boston has moved up ahead of Detroit because they have a game in hand. The Bruins are now also only two points behind the Montreal Canadiens and four points behind the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Atlantic Division. Thus, if the Bruins go on a winning streak, there is a chance that they could catch up to their other Atlantic Division rivals.
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With the playoff race in the Eastern Conference being very tight, the Bruins need to continue to pick up wins down the stretch. Getting ahead of the Red Wings is undoubtedly good news, but the Columbus Blue Jackets are also right behind them with 79 points.
It will be fascinating to see how the Bruins perform as the campaign rolls on from here.