With Bruins eliminated from the playoffs, focus shifts to NHL Draft lottery odds
The Boston Bruins will not be partaking in the NHL's postseason for the first time since the 2016 season, after being eliminated from playoff contention over the weekend.
This is only the third time the Bruins will miss out on all the postseason fun since 2007, which is also the last time Boston was eliminated from contention with games left on the schedule. The team was ousted from the playoff picture on the last day of the regular season in 2015 and 2016, so the "meaningless" games the team played over the last eight years were because the Bruins had already locked up a playoff spot -- not the other way around.
But with four games left to play in the 2024-25 regular season, all that really matters for Boston are the ping pong balls in the NHL draft lottery. Players are still going to take the ice and play for pride and David Pastrnak will be gunning for his third straight 100-point season, but it would really be in the team's best interest for the Bruins to lose their remaining four contests.
Losing hasn't been an issue lately, with Saturday's win over the Carolina Hurricanes halting a 10-game losing streak by Boston. And right after that Saturday win, the Bruins were eliminated thanks to a 3-2 win by the Montreal Canadiens over the Philadelphia Flyers. The Bruins got back to their losing ways on Sunday, falling 6-3 to the Buffalo Sabres.
The Bruins sit at 31-38-9 on the season, which has them last in the Eastern Conference for the first time since 1997. The team's 71 points are tied with the Flyers for the fourth-fewest heading into Tuesday night's game against the New Jersey Devils.
Lottery Odds for Boston Bruins
The Bruins have four games left in the 2024-25 season: Tuesday at New Jersey, Thursday vs. Chicago, Sunday at Pittsburgh, and next Tuesday's finale against the Devils in Boston. As painful as its been watching the team lose night after night, it would be in Boston's best interest to lose each of those remaining contests.
As the Bruins took a massive tumble during their 10-game skid, the team's draft odds increased drastically. Boston's best lottery odds remain for the No. 5 pick, sitting at 44.6 percent, according to Tankathon. But the team has a 34.4 percent chance of getting the No. 1 (9.5 percent), No. 2 (9.5 percent), or No. 4 (15.4 percent) overall selection, along with a 20.8 percent chance at falling back to No. 6.
With the San Jose Sharks (50 points), Blackhawks (54 points), and Nashville Predators (62 points) all superiorly worse this season, Boston is a longshot to land the top overall pick. The Bruins haven't had the first pick since 1997, when the franchise drafted Joe Thornton.
But losing out will only help their odds, and any win the rest of the way will hurt the team's chances at a top five pick (just ask the Patriots). Boston has the same amount of points as Philadelphia, and the Flyers have only played 77 games to the Bruins' 78. The Seattle Kraken have 74 points after a Monday night win over Los Angeles, as does Pittsburgh after 78 games played,
But Boston's margin for error remains razor thin, with the Buffalo Sabres, Anaheim Ducks, and Penguins all within striking distance of the Bruins and the Flyers. Any win the rest of the way, especially over the Penguins, could cause the Bruins to go from the fourth-best odds to the top pick to the sixth-best.
That dip might not be much, but could be the difference between a franchise-altering pick and just a really good player donning a B's sweater on stage in June.
