Bedard: Bruins' magical regular season reaches perfect crescendo as team, Pastrnak make history

There are certain times when the context really doesn't make a difference.

History will bear no judgment on the opponent on Sunday night, the reeling Flyers, who had lost six straight.

Nobody south of St. Albans, Vt. really cares about the length of the schedule, or whether there was overtime or not (man, those Montreal fans are getting really sensitive).

History does not care about context. You either make it, or you don't. Ask the 2007 Patriots.

And, oh baby, have these Bruins made it ... on a magical night on Broad Street in which their 5-3 victory over the Flyers was their 63rd win of the season — the most ever for any NHL team in history.

Let me say that again. Yes, your Boston Bruins can be mentioned with the greatest teams in a league that started in 1917 ... pending, well, you know.

MOST NHL WINS
63 - 2022-23 Boston Bruins
62 - 1995-96 Red Wings; 2018-19 Lightning

Making it even more special: David Pastrnak put together a hat-trick, including the game-winner, that gave him 60 goals this season.

Of course he did.

That is the type of season this team has been experiencing under the direction of the bald magician, Jim Montgomery — which apparently is Canadian and puck-speak for Joe Morgan.

Every other night, this team seems like they do something ridiculous. Against the Flyers, it didn't matter that they rented a bus from Providence and had the likes of Oskar Steen, Vinni Lettieri, Connor Carrick, Jack Ahcan and Brandon Bussi available.

These Bruins just keep rolling, with Pastrnak in the starring role again.

Only one other player that donned a black and gold sweater can say they scored 60 goals in a season, the great Phil Esposito, who did it four times (76 in 1970-71, 68 in 1973-74, 66 in 1971-72, and 61 in 1974-75).

David Pastrnak and Espo ... who would have thunk it?

The Montgomery Magical Mystery Tour — with a healthy assist from Don "Everything I Touch Turns to Gold" Sweeney (I mean, for crying out loud, Tyler Bertuzzi is feeding Pastrnak so well it's like he's laying on a bearskin rug and tossing grapes into his mouth) — rolls on with two games to play: Tuesday at home vs. the Capitals, and Thursday at Montreal.

The Bruins just need one win, or two ties to break the Bleu, Blanc et Rouge's record for most points in a season.

NHL MOST TEAM POINTS
1976-77 Montreal Canadiens (60-8-12 ties) 132 points
2022-23 Boston Bruins (63-12-5 OT losses) 131 points
1995-96 Detroit Red Wings (62-13-7 ties) 131 points

Anybody else out there want them to throw the game vs. Washington and rub it in Montreal's face in the Bell Centre with a no-doubt victory? I can't be the only one.

Either way, you know they're going to get it. This is just what these Bruins do. What an exhilarating season, which started with a 5-2 victory — of course — on Oct. 12th in Washington.

And the raucous road known as the Stanley Cup playoffs are still yet to come.

This is just the beginning.

_______________________

A note about our Bruins coverage: Thank you for your patience. I'm pleased to announce that Patrick Donnelly will be starting Tuesday as our full-time Bruins writer. No, I didn't want it to take this long, but I think Pat was worth waiting for. He may be a BU grad (we won't hold that against him) but he knows his way around a hockey rink, including a stint covering the Bruins for NHL.com. Had to wait for him to finish his postgrad work at NCAA.com covering ... well, everything, including the Frozen Four this weekend. Sometimes it's about the long game, and I think he's the right person to continue our great Bruins coverage. He'll kill it during the postseason run.