Bruins on verge of breaking NHL all-time wins record

BOSTON - After it was over, after the Boston Bruins had tied the NHL all-time single-season wins record Saturday at TD Garden with their 62nd win of 2022-23, coach Jim Montgomery took a minute to congratulate the team. It was, as he put it, "an incredible feat."

And he looked ahead, to Sunday, when the Bruins have the chance to claim the record for themselves, to leave behind the 2018-19 Tampa Bay Lightning and the 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings and become the all-time winningest single-season team.
"Any time you're talking about putting your team's name and putting our spoked B in the history books as most wins ever in a regular season, it's special," Montgomery said. "And collectively what's made this season special is how hard our guys play for each other. I think this record is reflective of a really, if you're thinking about the word team, I think we describe the word team the way we've played this regular season."
Their 62nd win came at home, 2-1 against the New Jersey Devils that had all the hallmarks of a Stanley Cup Playoff game. It was their fifth straight victory and 12th in their past 13 games.
And now the Bruins have three chances to break the record, starting against the Philadelphia Flyers at Wells Fargo Center on Sunday (6 p.m. ET; TNT, TVAS, SN1, SN NOW). If they fail, they will have two games remaining, each against teams that, like the Flyers, have been eliminated from playoff contention, at home against the Washington Capitals on Tuesday and against the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre on Thursday.
"There's no freebies," goalie Linus Ullmark said. "As happy as we are right now with this, we can pat ourselves a little bit on the shoulder, but there's a new day tomorrow."
When they can make history.
But does Montgomery feel that his players understand what they have in front of them?
"I think they do grasp it because we're talking about the history of the NHL," Montgomery said. "You talk about how long this league has been here. Yeah, I think they grasp it. I think they grasp it like when (Wayne) Gretzky broke (Gordie) Howe's (NHL goal-scoring) record. That's an individual feat, but everybody's aware of it and our group is aware of what we're doing as a team."
It has been something that has built slowly over the long, 82-game season and almost seemed to happen immediately, for a team that started setting records back in November, when they set one for the longest home winning streak to start a season, one that reached 14 games Dec. 3.

The record-setting play has come from the trust they've developed, in each other, in themselves, in the process, in their ability to get the lead, to keep the lead, to come back. And, for that, Montgomery praised the leadership of team president Cam Neely and general manager Don Sweeney, and the two Bruins coaches who preceded him.
"I think what they've taught me is how truly professional they are," Montgomery said. "They're incredible pros. I've never seen guys so dedicated to the team and so dedicated to their individual performance. The standard here is unreal. I credit Cam Neely and 'Sweens,' but I also credit Claude Julien and (Bruce Cassidy) for maintaining that standard that Sweens and Cam have set -- and (retired defenseman) Zdeno Chara, hats off to him."
For Taylor Hall, who had been out since Feb. 25 with a lower-body injury, it was important to get back into the lineup for the game Saturday, to be part of the history. And though Hall is not expected to play Sunday in the potential record-breaking game, he has seen what the chase has done for the Bruins.
"It's something that you'll remember for a long time," Hall said. "You don't get a ring for it, obviously, and we have bigger goals in mind. But to be part of something like this, it's a feather in your cap."
He recalled being "scared" to play the Lightning in 2018-19, how quickly they could turn it on in games. He acknowledged the tough playoffs they had -- being swept in the Eastern Conference First Round by the Columbus Blue Jackets -- but also remembered how they made you feel.
"To see them and how good they were and know that teams think that of us is really cool," Hall said.
For the Bruins, locked into the Presidents' Trophy since March 31, locked into the top spot in the Atlantic, there has been little to play for over the past few weeks and even months. And yet, even so, they have continued winning, continued besting themselves, climbing the ranks of the all-time great regular season NHL teams.
"At the end of the season, if we weren't in this spot, if we had 56 wins, maybe these games are not as meaningful," Hall said. "But now that there's a chance to chase history, there's a little bit more on the line and I think that's really good for us going into the playoffs."
But first, they have three games left to set themselves apart.
When asked about what it would mean to put himself in the company -- no, ahead of -- coaches like Scotty Bowman, who led that Detroit team, and Jon Cooper then and now the coach of the Lightning, Montgomery paused briefly.
"Two of the greatest coaches to coach in this league, along with a handful of other names," Montgomery said. "It's awesome. But I'd rather get Stanley Cups like they have than have this. And that's what we're chasing.
"Ultimately this is great. Our regular season's been great, but we need to win our last game in a season. And that's what we're building towards."
So what was he feeling after tying the record, on the brink of setting a new one?
"Really just grateful to be a part of it," Montgomery said. "That's what I'm feeling right now. Just lucky to be part of the Boston Bruins."