2020–21 Boston Bruins season

2020–21 Boston Bruins
2020–21 Boston Bruins
Division	3rd East
2020–21 record	33–16–7
Home record	18–7–3
Road record	15–9–4
Goals for	168
Goals against	136
Team information
General manager	Don Sweeney
Coach	Bruce Cassidy
Captain	Patrice Bergeron
Alternate captains	David Krejci; Brad Marchand
Arena	TD Garden
Minor league affiliate(s)	Providence Bruins (AHL); Atlanta Gladiators (ECHL)
Team leaders
Goals	Brad Marchand (29)
Assists	Brad Marchand (40)
Points	Brad Marchand (69)
Penalty minutes	Trent Frederic (65)
Plus/minus	Patrice Bergeron (+27)
Wins	Tuukka Rask (15)
Goals against average	Jeremy Swayman (1.50)
	← 2019–20 2021–22 →

The 2020–21 Boston Bruins season is the 97th season for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on November 1, 1924.^[1] The Bruins entered the season as defending Presidents' Trophy and Atlantic Division champions. On December 20, 2020, the league temporarily realigned into four divisions with no conferences due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing closure of the Canada–United States border. As a result of this realignment the Bruins played this season in the East Division, only facing opponents from within the new division in a shortened 56-game schedule.

On May 3, the Bruins clinched a playoff berth after a 3–0 win against the New Jersey Devils.^[2]

On March 25, spectators were allowed back into the TD Garden with a limited capacity of 2,200. This was the first time fans were in attendance at a Bruins home game since March 7th of the previous year.^[3] The capacity at the Garden was increased to 25% on May 10.^[4] Starting May 29, the venue was able to host fans at full capacity.^[5]

Standings

Divisional standings

East Division
Pos	Team v t e	GP	W	L	OTL	RW	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	y – Pittsburgh Penguins	56	37	16	3	29	196	156	+40	77
2	x – Washington Capitals	56	36	15	5	29	191	163	+28	77
3	x – Boston Bruins	56	33	16	7	25	168	136	+32	73
4	x – New York Islanders	56	32	17	7	24	156	128	+28	71

5	e – New York Rangers	56	27	23	6	24	177	157	+20	60
6	e – Philadelphia Flyers	56	25	23	8	17	163	201	−38	58
7	e – New Jersey Devils	56	19	30	7	15	145	194	−49	45
8	e – Buffalo Sabres	56	15	34	7	11	138	199	−61	37

Source: National Hockey League^[6]
Rules for classification: 1) Fewer number of games played (GP, only during regular season); 2) Greater number of regulation wins (RW); 3) Greater number of wins in regulation and overtime, excluding shootout wins (ROW); 4) Greater number of total wins, including shootouts (W); 5) Greater number of points earned in head-to-head play; if teams played an uneven number of head-to-head games, the result of the first game on the home ice of the team with the extra home game is discarded; 6) Greater goal differential (GD); 7) Greater number of goals scored (GF)
e – Eliminated from playoff contention; x – Clinched playoff spot; y – Clinched division

Schedule and results

Regular season

The regular season schedule was published on December 23, 2020.^[7]

2020–21 game log

January: 5–1–2 (Home: 4–0–0 ; Road: 1–1–2)
#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts	Recap
1	January 14	Boston	3–2	New Jersey	SO	Rask	0	1–0–0	2	Recap
2	January 16	Boston	1–2	New Jersey	OT	Halak	0	1–0–1	3	Recap
3	January 18	Boston	0–1	NY Islanders		Rask	0	1–1–1	3	Recap
4	January 21	Philadelphia	4–5	Boston	SO	Rask	0	2–1–1	5	Recap
5	January 23	Philadelphia	1–6	Boston		Halak	0	3–1–1	7	Recap
6	January 26	Pittsburgh	2–3	Boston	OT	Rask	0	4–1–1	9	Recap
7	January 28	Pittsburgh	1–4	Boston		Halak	0	5–1–1	11	Recap
8	January 30	Boston	3–4	Washington	OT	Rask	0	5–1–2	12	Recap

February: 7–4–0 (Home: 1–1–0 ; Road: 6–3–0)
#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts	Recap
9	February 1	Boston	5–3	Washington		Halak	0	6–1–2	14	Recap
10	February 3	Boston	4–3	Philadelphia	OT	Rask	0	7–1–2	16	Recap
11	February 5	Boston	2–1	Philadelphia		Rask	0	8–1–2	18	Recap
—	February 6	Buffalo	–	Boston	Postponed due to COVID-19.^[8] Rescheduled for March 27.
—	February 8	Buffalo	–	Boston	Postponed due to COVID-19. Rescheduled for April 13.
12	February 10	Boston	3–2	NY Rangers	OT	Rask	0	9–1–2	20	Recap
13	February 12	Boston	1–0	NY Rangers		Halak	0	10–1–2	22	Recap
14	February 13	Boston	2–4	NY Islanders		Rask	0	10–2–2	22	Recap
—	February 15	New Jersey	–	Boston	Postponed due to COVID-19.^[9] Rescheduled for March 7.^[10]
15	February 18	New Jersey	3–2	Boston		Halak	0	10–3–2	22	Recap
16	February 21	Philadelphia	3–7	Boston		Rask	0	11–3–2	24	Recap
17	February 25	Boston	2–7	NY Islanders		Halak	0	11–4–2	24	Recap
18	February 26	Boston	2–6	NY Rangers		Rask	1,800	11–5–2	24	Recap
19	February 28	Boston	4–1	NY Rangers		Rask	1,800	12–5–2	26	Recap

March: 6–4–3 (Home: 4–3–2 ; Road: 2–1–1)
#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts	Recap
20	March 3	Washington	2–1	Boston	SO	Rask	0	12–5–3	27	Recap
21	March 5	Washington	1–5	Boston		Halak	0	13–5–3	29	Recap
22	March 7	New Jersey	1–0	Boston		Rask	0	13–6–3	29	Recap
23	March 9	Boston	1–2	NY Islanders	SO	Halak	0	13–6–4	30	Recap
24	March 11	NY Rangers	0–4	Boston		Halak	0	14–6–4	32	Recap
25	March 13	NY Rangers	4–0	Boston		Halak	0	14–7–4	32	Recap
26	March 15	Boston	1–4	Pittsburgh		Halak	2,800	14–8–4	32	Recap
27	March 16	Boston	2–1	Pittsburgh		Vladar	2,800	15–8–4	34	Recap
28	March 18	Boston	4–1	Buffalo		Halak	0	16–8–4	36	Recap
—	March 20	Boston	–	Buffalo	Postponed due to COVID-19.^[11] Rescheduled for April 20.^[12]
—	March 23	NY Islanders	–	Boston	Postponed due to COVID-19.^[11] Rescheduled for May 10.^[12]
29	March 25	NY Islanders	4–3	Boston	OT	Halak	2,191	16–8–5	37	Recap
30	March 27	Buffalo	2–3	Boston		Vladar	2,191	17–8–5	39	Recap
31	March 28	New Jersey	1–0	Boston		Halak	2,191	17–9–5	39	Recap
32	March 30	New Jersey	4–5	Boston	SO	Halak	2,191	18–9–5	41	Recap

April: 11–5–1 (Home: 6–2–1 ; Road: 5–3–0)
#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts	Recap
33	April 1	Pittsburgh	4–1	Boston		Vladar	2,191	18–10–5	41	Recap
34	April 3	Pittsburgh	5–7	Boston		Halak	2,191	19–10–5	43	Recap
35	April 5	Philadelphia	3–2	Boston	OT	Vladar	2,191	19–10–6	44	Recap
36	April 6	Boston	4–2	Philadelphia		Swayman	2,638	20–10–6	46	Recap
37	April 8	Boston	4–2	Washington		Swayman	0	21–10–6	48	Recap
38	April 10	Boston	2–3	Philadelphia		Swayman	3,025	21–11–6	48	Recap
39	April 11	Washington	8–1	Boston		Vladar	2,191	21–12–6	48	Recap
40	April 13	Buffalo	2–3	Boston	SO	Swayman	2,191	22–12–6	50	Recap
41	April 15	NY Islanders	1–4	Boston		Rask	2,191	23–12–6	52	Recap
42	April 16	NY Islanders	0–3	Boston		Swayman	2,191	24–12–6	54	Recap
43	April 18	Washington	3–6	Boston		Rask	2,191	25–12–6	56	Recap
44	April 20	Boston	2–0	Buffalo		Rask	0	26–12–6	58	Recap
45	April 22	Boston	5–1	Buffalo		Swayman	0	27–12–6	60	Recap
46	April 23	Boston	4–6	Buffalo		Halak	—^[a]	27–13–6	60	Recap
47	April 25	Boston	0–1	Pittsburgh		Swayman	4,672	27–14–6	60	Recap
48	April 27	Boston	3–1	Pittsburgh		Rask	4,672	28–14–6	62	Recap
49	April 29	Buffalo	2–5	Boston		Rask	2,191	29–14–6	64	Recap

May: 4–2–1 (Home: 3–1–0 ; Road: 1–1–1)
#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Record	Pts	Recap
50	May 1	Buffalo	2–6	Boston		Swayman	2,191	30–14–6	66	Recap
51	May 3	Boston	3–0	New Jersey		Rask	3,600	31–14–6	68	Recap
52	May 4	Boston	3–4	New Jersey	OT	Halak	3,600	31–14–7	69	Recap
53	May 6	NY Rangers	0–4	Boston		Swayman	2,191	32–14–7	71	Recap
54	May 8	NY Rangers	5–4	Boston		Rask	2,191	32–15–7	71	Recap
55	May 10	NY Islanders	2–3	Boston	OT	Rask	4,565	33–15–7	73	Recap
56	May 11	Boston	1–2	Washington		Swayman	2,133	33–16–7	73	Recap

Legend: Win (2 points) Loss (0 points) Overtime/shootout loss (1 point) Postponement

Playoffs

2021 Stanley Cup playoffs

East Division First Round vs. (E2) Washington Capitals: Boston won 4–1
#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Series	Recap
1	May 15	Boston	2–3	Washington	OT	Rask	5,333	0–1	Recap
2	May 17	Boston	4–3	Washington	OT	Rask	5,333	1–1	Recap
3	May 19	Washington	2–3	Boston	2OT	Rask	4,565	2–1	Recap
4	May 21	Washington	1–4	Boston		Rask	4,565	3–1	Recap
5	May 23	Boston	3–1	Washington		Rask	5,333	4–1	Recap

East Division Second Round vs. (E4) New York Islanders: Series tied 1–1
#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Decision	Attendance	Series	Recap
1	May 29	NY Islanders	2–5	Boston		Rask	17,400	1–0	Recap
2	May 31	NY Islanders	4–3	Boston	OT	Rask	17,400	1–1	Recap
3	June 3	Boston	–	NY Islanders
4	June 5	Boston	–	NY Islanders
5	June 7	NY Islanders	–	Boston
6	June 9	Boston	–	NY Islanders				(if necessary)
7	June 11	NY Islanders	–	Boston				(if necessary)

Legend: Win Loss

Current roster

Updated July 16, 2024^[13]^[14]


No.	Player	Pos	S/G	Age	Acquired	Birthplace
19	John Beecher	C	L	23	2019	Elmira, New York
55	Justin Brazeau	RW	R	26	2024	New Liskeard, Ontario
38	Patrick Brown	C	R	32	2023	Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
30	Brandon Bussi	G	R	26	2022	Sound Beach, New York
79	Michael Callahan	D	L	24	2022	Franklin, Massachusetts
25	Brandon Carlo	D	R	27	2015	Colorado Springs, Colorado
13	Charlie Coyle	C	R	32	2019	Weymouth, Massachusetts
80	Michael DiPietro	G	L	25	2022	Windsor, Ontario
11	Trent Frederic	LW	L	26	2016	St. Louis, Missouri
39	Morgan Geekie	RW	R	26	2023	Strathclair, Manitoba
72	Brett Harrison	C	L	21	2021	London, Ontario
–	Max Jones	LW	L	26	2024	Rochester, Michigan
–	Mark Kastelic	C	R	25	2024	Phoenix, Arizona
–	Joonas Korpisalo	G	L	30	2024	Pori, Finland
95	Trevor Kuntar	C	L	23	2020	Buffalo, New York
–	Vinni Lettieri	C	R	29	2024	Excelsior, Minnesota
–	Elias Lindholm	C	R	29	2024	Boden, Sweden
27	Hampus Lindholm	D	L	30	2022	Helsingborg, Sweden
6	Mason Lohrei	D	L	23	2020	Baton Rouge, Louisiana
63	Brad Marchand (C)	LW	L	36	2006	Halifax, Nova Scotia
73	Charlie McAvoy (A)	D	R	26	2016	Long Beach, New York
26	Marc McLaughlin	C	R	24	2022	North Billerica, Massachusetts
42	Georgii Merkulov	C	L	23	2022	Ryazan, Russia
14	Ian Mitchell	D	R	25	2023	St. Albert, Alberta
88	David Pastrnak (A)	RW	R	28	2014	Havířov, Czech Republic
52	Andrew Peeke	D	R	26	2024	Parkland, Florida
51	Matt Poitras	C	R	20	2022	Ajax, Ontario
1	Jeremy Swayman (RFA)	G	L	25	2017	Anchorage, Alaska
29	Parker Wotherspoon	D	L	26	2023	Surrey, British Columbia
18	Pavel Zacha	C	L	27	2022	Brno, Czech Republic
91	Nikita Zadorov	D	L	29	2024	Moscow, Russia

Draft picks

Below are the Boston Bruins' selections at the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, which was originally scheduled for June 26–27, 2020 at the Bell Center in Montreal, Quebec, but was postponed on March 25, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The rescheduled draft was held October 6–7, 2020 virtually via Video conference call from the NHL Network studio in Secaucus, New Jersey.

Round	#	Player	Pos	Nationality	College/Junior/Club Team (League)
2	58	Mason Lohrei	D	United States	Green Bay Gamblers (USHL)
3	89	Trevor Kuntar	C	United States	Boston College (H-East)
5	151	Mason Langenbrunner	D	United States	Eden Prairie (USHS-MN)
6	182	Riley Duran	C	United States	Lawrence Academy (USHS-MA)

Notes

^ Spectators were in attendance, but the exact number was not reported.

References

^ National Hockey League (2013). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book/2014. Diamond Sports Data, Inc. p. 25. ISBN 978-1-894801-26-3.
^ "Bruins shut out Devils, clinch final playoff berth in East". NHL.com. May 3, 2021. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
^ "Fans Return to TD Garden for First Time Since Start of Pandemic". nbcboston.com. March 25, 2021. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
^ "Crowd Capacity Set to Increase at TD Garden, Fenway Park". nbcboston.com. May 9, 2021. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
^ "Red Sox, Bruins Can Host Fans At Full Capacity Beginning May 29". boston.cbslocal.com. May 17, 2021. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
^ "NHL Hockey Standings". www.nhl.com. National Hockey League.
^ "2020-21 NHL schedule announced". NHL.com. December 23, 2020. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
^ "Sabres games postponed through Monday due to NHL COVID-19 protocol". NHL.com. February 2, 2021. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
^ "NHL postpones additional Devils, Sabres, Wild games due to COVID-19". NHL.com. February 8, 2021. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
^ "NHL announces updates to regular-season schedule". NHL.com. February 16, 2021. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
^ ^a ^b "Bruins have two games postponed; four players added to COVID-19 protocol". NHL.com. March 19, 2021. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
^ ^a ^b "NHL announces updates to 2020-21 regular-season schedule". NHL.com. March 28, 2021. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
^ "Boston Bruins Roster". National Hockey League. Retrieved July 16, 2024.
^ "Boston Bruins Hockey Transactions". The Sports Network. Retrieved July 16, 2024.

[attendance-13] Spectators were in attendance, but the exact number was not reported.

[1] National Hockey League (2013). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book/2014. Diamond Sports Data, Inc. p. 25. ISBN 978-1-894801-26-3.

[2] "Bruins shut out Devils, clinch final playoff berth in East". NHL.com. May 3, 2021. Retrieved May 3, 2021.

[3] "Fans Return to TD Garden for First Time Since Start of Pandemic". nbcboston.com. March 25, 2021. Retrieved May 31, 2021.

[4] "Crowd Capacity Set to Increase at TD Garden, Fenway Park". nbcboston.com. May 9, 2021. Retrieved May 31, 2021.

[5] "Red Sox, Bruins Can Host Fans At Full Capacity Beginning May 29". boston.cbslocal.com. May 17, 2021. Retrieved May 31, 2021.

[nhl-div-6] "NHL Hockey Standings". www.nhl.com. National Hockey League.

[7] "2020-21 NHL schedule announced". NHL.com. December 23, 2020. Retrieved December 26, 2020.

[8] "Sabres games postponed through Monday due to NHL COVID-19 protocol". NHL.com. February 2, 2021. Retrieved February 2, 2021.

[9] "NHL postpones additional Devils, Sabres, Wild games due to COVID-19". NHL.com. February 8, 2021. Retrieved February 8, 2021.

[Rescheduled-10] "NHL announces updates to regular-season schedule". NHL.com. February 16, 2021. Retrieved February 17, 2021.

[BOSBUFNYI-11] "Bruins have two games postponed; four players added to COVID-19 protocol". NHL.com. March 19, 2021. Retrieved March 19, 2021.

[Schedule_Changes-12] "NHL announces updates to 2020-21 regular-season schedule". NHL.com. March 28, 2021. Retrieved March 28, 2021.

[14] "Boston Bruins Roster". National Hockey League. Retrieved July 16, 2024.

[15] "Boston Bruins Hockey Transactions". The Sports Network. Retrieved July 16, 2024.

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