The Boston Bruins’ historic season has reached its greatest height yet on Sunday night. Boston defeated the Philadelphia Flyers, 5-3, improving their win total to an NHL-record 63 to put a cherry on top of their Presidents’ Trophy-winning campaign.
Boston’s 63rd win surpasses the previous record of 62 set by the 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings and matched by the 2018-19 Tampa Bay Lightning. With two games remaining and 131 points for the season, the Bruins also have a chance to surpass the NHL points record of 132, which the Montreal Canadiens set in 1976-77.
Bruins star David Pastrnak led the way against the Flyers by recording a hat trick, giving him 60 goals for the season and 300 for his career. The 26-year-old star is only the second player in franchise history to hit 60 goals for a season, joining Phil Esposito, a Hall of Famer who did so four times for the Bruins.
Pastrnak’s extraordinary effort came at an opportune time for the Bruins as they sat six regulars against Philadelphia.
This season has been one Boston fans will remember for quite some time. The Bruins came into the year missing key contributors Brad Marchand and Charlie McAvoy, but their brief absences didn’t stop Boston from becoming the fastest team in NHL history to reach 100 points and 50 wins. The Bruins also won their fourth Presidents’ Trophy in franchise history — passing the New York Rangers for second-most all-time — on March 30, a full two weeks before the conclusion of the NHL regular season.
The Bruins will end their regular season with a home game against the Washington Capitals on Tuesday and a road matchup with the Canadiens on Thursday. Then comes the Stanley Cup Playoffs, where the Bruins will hope to win their seventh Stanley Cup to give them sole position of the fourth-most titles in NHL history.
