The Bruins had just dismissed the Ottawa Senators 5-2 Saturday night at TD Garden and were awaiting the end result out an out-of-town score. It wasn't long after the final buzzer sounded in Boston when the Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 in overtime, which means a win at home by the Bruins in any fashion over the Florida Panthers on Sunday will give Boston the Eastern Conference and Atlantic Division titles.
"It's huge," said Bruins' David Pastrnak when asked about Sunday's game. "It's a good sign that it's in our hands and we want to be first in our conference and it's a big game for us. We've worked hard for it all season, so I think it's well deserved. It's good that it's in our hands."
Everything else you need to know from the Bruins' win in quickie form, with BSJ insight and analysis.
HEADLINES
Getting the nod: The original plan was for backup goalie Anton Khudobin to play both games this weekend in order to give starter Tuukka Rask five days between games. That's no longer the case. When asked after Saturday's win which goalie would start on Sunday, Bruce Cassidy quickly said: "Tuukka goes tomorrow."
First-round opponent TBD: It's down to two teams -- the Maple Leafs and Devils. If Bruins finish atop the standings, they get the Devils. Boston finishes second it gets Toronto. At this point, Cassidy and the players don't care which team they face.
"We focus on ourselves," Pastrnak said. "We've played both those teams and if we want to win (the Cup) we need to go through everybody and for us, we want to play out best and focus on ourselves."
Plus, the Bruins have the Panthers to focus on first. Boston will start to concentrate on its first-round opponent on Monday.
TURNING POINT
Special teams: They could mean the difference between winning and losing in the postseason. Boston's power play got things going when Pastrnak scored at 8:08 of the second period to tie the game at 1-1. That goal jumpstarted Boston's attack en route to victory.
DAVID PASTRNAK SLAMS ONE HOME! 1-1 GAME! pic.twitter.com/YpftblgqpC
— NHL Daily 365 (@NHLDaily365) April 8, 2018