The 2022-3 season has been a record-breaking one for the Boston Bruins. Their 99th year as a franchise has seen them tearing up both the league and just about every NHL trophy and record possible, in what has truly been a regular-season run for the history books.

The Bruins started out their season explosively with a 14-game home win streak, setting an NHL record for the most consecutive home wins to begin a single season. They continued this tear through the winter, dropping very few games and racking up points.

On March 2nd, 2023, the team recorded their 100th standings point in just their 61st game, the fastest team to do so in NHL history. Then, just a week later on March 11th, 2023, the team recorded their 50th win (in just 64 games), clinching the league’s first playoff spot and the league record for the fastest team to 50 wins. They won the annually-awarded President’s Trophy for the team with the league’s most points just five days later on March 30th. March was the team’s worst month for regulation losses, they reached a season-high four, but this didn’t hinder them from cementing themselves as both the best team in the current season, as well as one of the best in the league’s history.

April saw even more historic moments for the Bruins. On April 9th, they set an NHL record for most wins in a season with their 63rd win against the Philadelphia Flyers. Two days later on the 11th, they bested the Washington Capitals and set a new NHL single-season points record with 133 points. They officially ended with a win against Montreal on April 13th, closing out the regular season with 65 victories and 135 points.

The success of the Bruins has been due to their equilateral strength in scoring, defense, and goaltending. Forward David Pastrnak led the team in regular-season goals (61), assists (52), and total points (113), setting career-highs. His numbers were supported by the team’s leadership corps: forwards Bergeron, Marchand, and Krejci, as well as players like Pavel Zacha and Jake DeBrusk. The Bruins’ defense was also strong this year. Defenseman Hampus Lindholm led the team’s defensive corps in goals this year with ten, supported by strong players like Charlie McAvoy (who missed some of the early season after a summer shoulder surgery) and Matt Grzelcyk. Lindholm, Grzelcyk, and Brandon Carlo also led the league in plus/minus (or goal differential), proving the efficacy of the team’s d-corps.

The shining star of the Boston Bruins this season, though, has been their goaltending. Goalie tandem Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman played 86 of the team’s 87 games (one game was played and won by backup goalie Keith Kinkaid) and each saw only six losses. Ullmark had a sensational and historical season, scoring an exceptionally rare goalie goal (he’s only the 13th goaltender in history to do so) and achieving the Triple Crown of goaltending: leading the league in save percentage (.938), goals against average (1.89), and wins (40). Swayman’s input can’t be overlooked either, his 2.27 goals against and .920 save percentage have certainly held their own against league averages. Both Ullmark and Swayman won the NHL’s William M. Jennings’ trophy this year for the “​​goaltender(s) having played a minimum of 25 games for the team with the fewest goals scored against it … based on regular-season play.”

The question now is whether the Bruins can channel this unstoppable regular-season energy into a complete playoffs run. The franchise seems prepared to do so, and went all-in before the trade deadline in what could be enough for them to win the Cup this year. The Bruins acquired forward Tyler Bertuzzi from the Detroit Red Wings, as well as forward Garnet Hathaway and defenseman Dmitry Orlov from the Washington Capitals. In exchange, the Bruins won’t have a first or second round pick until 2025 and 2026, respectively. However, the depth, toughness, and two-way play that these three acquisitions give the Bruins, as well as added team endurance in a playoff run that will undoubtedly bring injuries and fatigue, might be worth it.

No one can accurately predict what might occur during the playoffs, but after a historical season of broken records, there’s no doubt that the Bruins are a team to watch.