The Boston Bruins are doing their best to sprint -- and not crawl -- into the playoffs.
Since firing coach Claude Julien on Feb. 7, the Bruins have gone 17-7-0 under interim coach Bruce Cassidy and are riding a five-game winning streak.
But their final three games of the season -- all at home at TD Garden -- are against formidable foes. Boston hosts the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday, the Ottawa Senators on Thursday and the Washington Capitals on Sunday.
The Bruins (who have missed the playoffs the past two seasons), the Lightning and the Senators are all still chasing a postseason berth, while the Capitals (with 112 points) have already clinched a spot and should win the Presidents' Trophy.
The Montreal Canadiens, who beat the Florida Panthers on Monday night, are the Atlantic Division champions, with 101 points. The Toronto Maple Leafs moved past the Bruins and into second place (with 93 points) by virtue of their win over the Buffalo Sabres, while the Senators earned a point in a shootout loss to the Detroit Red Wings and moved into third place in the division.
The Bruins and Senators are now tied at 92 points, but Ottawa has a game in hand, leaving the Bruins in a wild-card spot. Tampa Bay trails the Bruins by four points, so Boston can clinch a playoff spot with a regulation victory over the Lightning. An overtime or shootout win won't seal the deal.
Cassidy said that Sunday's 3-2 win over the Western Conference-leading Chicago Blackhawks provided a big boost for his team.
"It's going to prepare us for the next game and how we need to play against good offensive teams like Tampa," he said. "Even though they're missing some guys, they're pretty good offensively and we have to make sure some of the same formula [we used against Chicago] comes through, as far as being hard on the puck."
Lightning captain Steven Stamkos has been sidelined since undergoing surgery on his right knee in November. Center Tyler Johnson recently returned to the lineup after missing 11 games with a lower-body injury. Defenseman Jason Garrison also returned over the weekend, but he's still bothered by a lower-body injury. Veteran forward Ryan Callahan, who has been dealing with a hip issue and skated Sunday for the first time in months, could return if the Lightning reach the playoffs and go on a deep run.
It's the fifth and final matchup of the season between the Bruins and Lightning this season (Boston is 3-1). Tampa Bay posted its lone win with a 6-3 victory over the Bruins on March 23 at TD Garden. The Lightning's Nikita Kucherov had a hat trick in the win.
Like the Lightning, the Senators -- who are in the midst of a five-game losing skid -- are also battling the injury bug at the worst possible time. Captain Erik Karlsson returned to action Monday after missing two games, but fellow blueliner Marc Methot is still out, having missed the past four games with a finger injury suffered when he was slashed by the Pittsburgh Penguins' Sidney Crosby. Center Zack Smith missed Saturday's game with an undisclosed injury. Senators coach Guy Boucher told reporters on Monday that Methot, Smith and defenseman Cody Ceci (leg) won't return before the end of the regular season.
Ottawa must play three games in four nights this week -- including the second game of a back-to-back against the Red Wings on Tuesday in Ottawa -- so the Bruins will likely face a tired team on Thursday. The Senators could be energized, however, by the fact that it is 3-0-0 in the season series against Boston. Ottawa has outscored the Bruins 10-5 in those games.
If the Lightning were to win their remaining three games and the Bruins lose their final two, each would finish with 94 points. Based on Regulation/Overtime wins tiebreaker, Boston would earn the postseason berth.