Historically, teams who are in a playoff spot right around Thanksgiving time have a pretty good chance of advancing to the Stanley Cup Playoffs in April. Last year, 13 of 16 teams who were in the top eight in their respective conference advanced to the postseason. The Bruins, however, were one of three teams who couldn’t hold on — along with the Maple Leafs and Kings — and missed the playoffs for the first time under Claude Julien.
This year, the Bruins are facing a similar dilemma. If the season ended today, they would advance to the playoffs as one of the two wild-card teams in the Eastern Conference.