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Boston Bruins can claim a piece of NHL history on Saturday.

The Boston Bruins have a chance to share in a piece of National Hockey League history on Saturday when they will face off against the New Jersey Devils, and given the way that things have been trending for the Bruins this season they could even make that piece of NHL history their very own.

The Bruins are coming into Saturday’s game against the Devils with 61 wins in their back pocket already, but a win over the Devils on Saturday would tie the NHL record for most wins in a single season by any team in the league’s history. Only two other teams in the NHL’s history have managed to accomplish this feat before, with the Detroit Red Wings picking up 62 wins during the 1995-1996 regular season, and the Tampa Bay Lightning matching that accomplishment over 2 decades later during the 2018-2019 regular season.

Perhaps what will make the game on Saturday must see TV however is the fact that the Bruins have a very real chance of overtaking both of those historically great teams further down the line. Although the Bruins can tie to the record with a win on Saturday, they have 3 additional games remaining on the schedule with a matchup against the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday as well as a pair of matchups against the Washington Capitals and Montreal Canadiens next week.

The Bruins will first have to overcome a playoff bound New Jersey Devils squad today to even tie the record, so I doubt very much that they are looking ahead at the possibility of potentially breaking the record just yet.

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Concerning update on injured Tanner Jeannot.

The Tampa Bay Lightning made a major move at the National Hockey League’s trade deadline to acquire gritty forward Tanner Jeannot from the Nashville Predators, but there is now real concern that Jeannot may not even get the chance to participate in this year’s Stanley Cup playoffs.

Earlier this week, Jeannot was injured when he got tangled up with New York Islanders defenseman Scott Mayfield, an incident that resulted in both Mayfield and Jeannot himself falling awkwardly on top of Jeannot’s right leg. It was immediately clear that Jeannot was in considerable pain and he was unable to leave the ice under his own power, needing teammates Zach Bogosian and Corey Perry to help him off the ice.

Head coach Jon Cooper admitted following the game that he was worried about Jeannot’s status moving forward, and on Saturday we received more bad news regarding the injured forward.

The Lightning have now confirmed that Jeannot has returned to Tampa to undergo medical evaluation for his injury, one that the Lightning are surely hoping will allow him to return this season.

The Lightning of course made a huge investment in Jeannot at the trade deadline, giving up Cal Foote, a first round pick in 2025, a second round pick in 2024, and a third, fourth, and fifth round pick in 2023 to acquire him. The Lightning would of course hate to lose him for the Stanley Cup playoffs after such a major investment but, the silver lining here is that, with Jeannot being a restricted free agent they will likely have him in the lineup for many more playoff runs to come.

The Lightning will also be without defenseman Mikhail Sergachev tonight, who is anticipating the birth of his child and is away for personal reasons.

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Lighting suffer devastating blow ahead of playoffs

While the Tampa Bay Lightning may not be quite as strong as they have been in the past several seasons that have saw them advance to the Stanley Cup Final three straight times, they’re still the team to beat in the Easter Conference. Simply put – if you want to advance, you have to go through Tampa. 

The Lighting are once again gearing up to face the Toronto Maple Leafs in the opening round of the postseason that will get underway later this month, but they were dealt a bit of devastating news as the regular season schedule continues to wind down to a close.

Not only did they fail to take down the New York Islanders in last night’s game (while Toronto secured home ice advantage for their impending matchup), they lost forwards Pat Maroon as well as Tanner Jeannot over the course of the game. The latter was hurt after being taken down along the boards by Islanders forward Scott Mayfield. He was unable to put any weight on his leg and required assistance to be able to make his way off the ice and down to the dressing room; he would be ruled out for the rest of the game. 

And needless to say, head coach Jon Cooper was concerned afterward.

As you may remember, the Lighting brought aboard Jeannot from the Nashville Predators in exchange for an absolute haul that included defenseman Cal Foote, a conditional first-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, a second-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, and a third-, fourth- and fifth-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft.

If he’s unable to play in Tampa’s opening round series against Toronto, chalk that up as an instant advantage for the Leafs. We’ll keep our eyes peeled for any updates on his condition.