The Boston Bruins [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/boston-bruins] enjoyed an idle Thursday night, as one of just six teams who had the night off during a busy 13-game NHL slate. None of the results last night really helped Boston too much. The Pittsburgh Penguins [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins] beat the Ottawa Senators [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/ottawa-senators] in a shootout, with both teams gaining a point. Pittsburgh is one point up on the Columbus Blue Jackets [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/columbus-blue-jackets] and New York Islanders [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders] for second place in the Metropolitan Division, but the other shoe dropped last night. Sidney Crosby [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins/latest-news/breaking-sidney-crosby-exits-game-against-ottawa-senators-with-injury] left the game early due to a lower-body injury, joining Evgeni Malkin as injured. It's just about the worst time imaginable for an injury, with the Penguins playing six games between this Saturday, March 28, and next Sunday, April 5. Their next three games come against the Dallas Stars, the Islanders, and the Detroit Red Wings. Pittsburgh could be in real danger, real quick. Meanwhile, Ottawa's loss is good news on the whole. They're now two points behind the Bruins, with an even number of games played. Ottawa's next opponent is the Tampa Bay Lightning [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/tampa-bay-lightning] on Saturday afternoon. The Montreal Canadiens beat the Blue Jackets 2-1 last night, a big win for Montreal that has them remain two points clear of Boston with a game in hand. The Islanders pulled an upset, beating the Dallas Stars 2-1 last night in UBS Arena, a massive win for New York. With the win, the Islanders leapfrogged the Ottawa Senators for the final wild card place, with 87 points to Ottawa's 86. The Islanders are now tied with the Blue Jackets on 87 points, with Columbus holding one game in hand. The Islanders hold the tiebreaker, despite both having 27 regulation wins. The secondary tiebreaker then becomes the amount of regulation and overtime wins, which the Islanders have 37 to Columbus' 32. The Islanders host the Florida Panthers on Saturday afternoon. Columbus, meanwhile, hosts the San Jose Sharks. 24 hours later, the Blue Jackets will host the Bruins, in what's going to be an absolutely seismic game. The Bruins, for their part, have Friday off. They'll host the Minnesota Wild tomorrow evening before hitting the road for a one-game trip in Columbus. The only other team in the race, the Detroit Red Wings [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/detroit-red-wings], was inactive last night. Tonight they're in Buffalo to take on the Buffalo Sabres [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/buffalo-sabres]. 24 hours later, the Red Wings will be home to host the Philadelphia Flyers for a nationally televised game. All things told, the Bruins have to like where they are currently. They control their destiny, with two head-to-head games against the Blue Jackets remaining on the docket. They're in the top wild card place, two points clear of the Senators. Ottawa holds the regulation wins tiebreaker, which could become a major pain point very quickly. The odds, per Moneypuck.com [https://moneypuck.com], slightly favor the Bruins to make it to the dance over the Senators. It's a razor-thin margin. The only thing the Bruins can do now is focus on their own games, beginning with Minnesota on Saturday, then Columbus on Sunday.
