B's Snap Skid, Clinch Spot in Stanley Cup Playoffs

BOSTON - The Bruins are headed to the Stanley Cup Playoffs after a 2-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins Saturday afternoon at TD Garden that also snapped the club's season-long, three-game losing skid.
"We have a standard here," said Coach Cassidy. "We're not gonna go out and celebrate that we made the playoffs, but it's still an accomplishment you should be proud of."

The scene was set early as the B's took to home ice for a matinee matchup, in the midst of a three-game losing streak, their latest to the Ottawa Senators on Thursday. But a trip to the playoffs was on the line, once again, and two early goals from Trent Frederic and Erik Haula was enough to put Boston on the right track and send the B's to the potseason for the sixth consecutive year.
"It's not easy to do it year in and year out in this league," said Cassidy, whose Bruins have not missed playoffs since 2016 and hold the record for most consecutive playoff appearances at 29 seasons from 1968-1996. "We're in now, and we can start building our game for the playoffs - which I think we've been doing for the last few months."

Missing Pieces

The B's enter the last stretch of the regular season missing some key elements. One of the missing pieces is David Pastrnak, who is currently second behind Brad Marchand in scoring with 38 goals and 33 assists for 71 points. "Pasta's been here a lot of years, but again he's a timing guy so he needs to play," said Cassidy. Hampus Lindholm also missed his fifth consecutive games.
"Lindy hasn't played a lot of hockey with us, so I think it'll benefit him to play with our guys and our system," said Cassidy. "Right now we'd like them to get in and get playing as quickly as possible."
Last but not least, Linus Ullmark left the game Thursday after the first period with an undisclosed injury and did not dress on Saturday, thought Cassidy had somewhat encouraging news on his condition following the win.
"Linus feels better. How quick that comes around remains to be seen," said Cassidy. "Good to see him up and feeling good."

Frederic Bounces Back

Trent Frederic was back in the lineup Saturday afternoon after being a healthy scratch on Thursday night. He wasted no time making his impact felt with a goal just 49 seconds into the contest.
"Some guys don't respond well when they come back, they're bitter or whatever word you want to use, but Freddy wasn't that way," said Cassidy. Frederic's attitude paid off as he scored his seventh goal of the season off a Craig Smith rebound. "I thought he went out and practiced well [Friday], and got rewarded right away."
"I just wanted to play hard, try to help the team, be disciplined, obviously try to get a win. Any time we're winning, that's a good thing," added Frederic.
Cassidy was also pleased with Smith's decision to attack the net. "Smith good possession, collected the puck, saw the seam, and got it to the net for a second chance," said Cassidy. "That's how that line is effective, we need more of that from them."
Erik Haula's goal came shortly after Frederic's at just 2:01 into the first period. It was Haula's 15th goal of the season and his sixth in the last 10 games.

Swayman Shuts the Door

Jeremy Swayman saved 23 of the 24 shots that came his way and was happy with his performance in the playoff-clinching victory. "Definitely took a lot of positives today and excited to move forward with it," said Swayman.
From here on out, Swayman recognizes the importance of staying sharp, particularly if Ullmark is to miss any more time. "We know every game from here on out is going to be high level, making sure that we're getting ourselves ready for playoffs," said Swayman.
Coach Cassidy was also pleased with Swayman's performance. "Good for him to have a solid effort in a win," said Cassidy, who also lauded the effort of the B's back end. "I thought we were working really hard in front of Swayman too. It was a good combination and that's what goaltenders need."