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The Boston Bruins are headed to the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs after failing to qualify last season. <\/p>\n
But as they enter their regular season finale against the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday night at TD Garden, both their playoff seed and first-round opponent remain TBD.<\/p>\n
Let’s take a look at where the B’s stand in the wild card race and which teams they could face in Round 1. <\/p>\n
The Bruins are unable to finish top-three in the Atlantic Division, so they will end up in the first or second wild card spot.<\/p>\n
Boston enters Tuesday in the first wild card position with a one-point lead over the Ottawa Senators. That means the Bruins would clinch the No. 1 wild card berth with a win of any kind against the Devils in the regular season finale.<\/p>\n
The B’s need to finish ahead of the Senators by at least one point to secure the top wild card spot because Ottawa owns the first tiebreaker with a 37-32 edge in regulation wins. <\/p>\n
Both the Bruins and Senators have one more game remaining. Ottawa’s finale is against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday night, so if the Bruins lose in any fashion to the Devils, they’ll need to wait 24 hours before their seed is finalized. <\/p>\n
In summary: The Bruins finish as top wild card team with any kind of win vs. Devils. The B’s would be the second wild card team if the Senators finish tied or ahead of them in the standings. Ottawa is currently one point behind the Bruins.<\/p>\n
For what it’s worth, MoneyPuck<\/a>‘s and HockeyStats<\/a>‘ analytics models both project the Bruins to finish as the first wild card team.<\/p>\n \nBruins’ most likely first-round opponents<\/h2>\n