The Bruins got a taste of what's to come during the second half of the 2022-23 season in their 4-3 win against the Maple Leafs on Saturday.
With the top and bottom of the league standings mostly distinguished up to this point, the B's will have a target on their back the rest of the way after earning top marks (league-best 70 points) through the first 42 games. As the importance of each matchup ratchets up, so will the intensity from the opponents, and the Black and Gold will see some stingy squads coming up.
"The energy was there, the fans were engaged, we were engaged on all sides," Bruins captain Patrice Bergeron said after the victory against Toronto. "Those of the type of games we'll see down the road and probably in the playoffs."
The Flyers will skate into Boston first on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, winners of seven of their last eight, before the Bruins have a back-to-back in the Big Apple next week against the Islanders and Rangers round out its next three games. Both New York clubs are in the playoff picture as of Jan. 14.
Five of the following six games for the Bruins will be on the road, with another meeting with the Maple Leafs scheduled for Feb. 1, marking the last game before the nine-day All-Star break.
"I haven't played in the playoffs in the NHL, but always being in that moment ... we're such a talented team that we're never out of it," B's forward A.J. Greer said. "When a team pushes and you feel it coming, it's a tough thing to do to come back and be resilient but we have a resilient group a tight group."
The Bruins' schedule will also tighten up over the final three months of the regular season. The B's will have six more back-to-backs after their showdown in New York City next week, and just four instances where they'll have more than two days off until the season finale in Montreal. In other words, 31 games in 62 days are what the Bruins have to look forward to.
A healthy dose of Atlantic division battles are also on the docket with 14 games against divisional opponents scheduled the rest of the way. The B's have only lost three times to Atlantic opponents thus far, albeit without seeing the Canadiens yet.
Of those remaining games, just the Lightning and Maple Leafs occupy playoff positions as the rest of the division will be pushing for a postseason berth.
"There are big games like this as your season continues," B's coach Jim Montgomery said. "I take the [Los Angeles] game against the Kings, it was a great hockey game, both teams were into it, but the emotion of this game wasn't there. We both know we may have to go through each other to advance in the playoffs.
"We all know what's at stake when we play each other now," Montgomery said.
The Bruins gave themselves plenty of leeway in its historic start, but the real work is only just beginning. On pace for its best regular season finish ever, the B's will look to continue those results into the portion of the season that really matters, because as good as things have been to this point, it all means nothing once the playoffs roll around.
Just ask the 2019 Lightning.