Bruins made most of youth, defense to clinch playoff berth

BOSTON --The Boston Bruins were not expected to be one of the elite teams in the NHL this season. And yet, after a surge that began in the middle of November, the Bruins find themselves among the top teams in the League heading into the Stanley Cup Playoffs, having clinched a spot with a point in a 2-1 overtime loss at the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday.
It is Boston's second consecutive trip to the playoffs under coach Bruce Cassidy, finishing his first full season after replacing Claude Julien on Feb. 7, 2017.

For the Bruins (45-17-10), this marks their first 100-point season since 2013-14, when they had 117 points and won the Presidents' Trophy but lost to the Montreal Canadiens in the Second Round.
Boston is in second place in the Atlantic Division, four points behind the first-place Tampa Bay Lightning and seven points ahead of the third-place Toronto Maple Leafs. The Bruins have a game in hand on each.
If the season ended today, Boston would have home-ice advantage in an Eastern Conference First Round matchup against the Maple Leafs.
Here are five reasons the Bruins clinched a playoff berth:

1. Coming of age

Early on, it appeared the Bruins would have far too many rookies to succeed this season, but those first-year players have mostly surpassed expectations, from defenseman Charlie McAvoy to forward Danton Heinen to forward Jake DeBrusk to newly signed center Ryan Donato, who's scored two goals in his first two NHL games.
In all, the Bruins have used six rookies in at least 30 games -- Heinen, DeBrusk, McAvoy, forward Sean Kuraly, defenseman Matt Grzelcyk and forward Anders Bjork -- but no one has been more impressive than McAvoy, who former Los Angeles Kings general manager Dean Lombardi compared recently to defenseman Drew Doughty.
McAvoy, 20, out since March 3 with a sprained MCL in his right knee, is expected to miss at least another week.
"I think the start that we had with the injuries really forced guys into situations that maybe they may not have found themselves in at the start of the year," Bruins president Cam Neely said. "I think everybody embraced it and said, OK, next man up. Let's go to work here."

2. Dynamic duo became trio

Center Patrice Bergeron and forward Brad Marchand, one of the premier pairs in the NHL, have been linemates since 2010-11, and seem to keep getting better with age and experience, and with David Pastrnak on their right wing.
Bergeron, 32, was in the conversation for Hart Trophy earlier this season, with 54 points (27 goals, 27 assists) in 55 games before he fractured his right foot on Feb. 24. He resumed practicing with the Bruins on Monday, but there is no timeline for his return.
In Bergeron's absence, Marchand, 29, and Pastrnak, 21, have kept the line going, paired with center Riley Nash, who has 12 points (five goals, seven assists) in 13 games since joining them.
Marchand, with 75 points (31 goals, 44 assists) in 58 games, and Pastrnak, with 70 points (28 goals, 42 assists) in 72 games, are first and second on Boston in scoring.

3. Bruce Cassidy

It was not universal that making the swap of Cassidy for Julien was the right move, but it has proven to be exactly that.
Cassidy, 52, spent eight years coaching Providence in the American Hockey League before becoming an assistant, then coach, with the Bruins. He has a significant amount of experience working with young players; he knows how to teach them, talk to them and coach them, all of which have been on display this season.
"I'm a passionate guy, so you can verbalize some stuff with [young players] and get away with it where you can't with older guys," Cassidy said. "As long as you reel them back in, I've always thought that helps, because I tend to coach in the moment, get it out, move on, learn, teach, and so that's helped."
It took him 12 years to return as an NHL coach after 110 games with the Washington Capitals from 2002-04, but the return has been a triumphant one.

4. Case for defense

Having three first- and second-year players in the top six isn't usually a recipe for success. But 21-year-old Brandon Carlo, in his second NHL season, has combined with McAvoy and Grzelcyk, 24 and also in his second season, to stabilize a defense that could have been suspect.
Zdeno Chara, who turned 41 on March 18, has had a bounce-back season paired mostly with McAvoy, and has played alongside Carlo with McAvoy injured. Chara, day to day with an upper-body injury, has continued to be an important piece in a defense that has allowed the third-fewest goals against per game this season (2.56) behind the Nashville Predators (2.39) and Kings (2.50).
They've also proven to have depth, utilizing Nick Holden, acquired in a trade with the New York Rangers on Feb. 20, and longtime Bruin Adam McQuaid.

5. Leadership leading

With all those rookies, the leadership on the Bruins has been crucial, as one Western Conference executive mentioned earlier this season. That's led by Chara, Boston's captain, but it's also the core of the group that has been around since the Bruins won the Stanley Cup in 2011, including Bergeron, Marchand and center David Krejci, along with newer additions in defenseman Torey Krug and forward David Backes, a former captain with the St. Louis Blues.
"We give credit to the coaching staff for pulling the boot straps up, and also our leaders that really said, 'This is what we've got, and let's work with it,'" Neely said.