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The Boston Bruins face elimination in their playoff series against the Florida Panthers, while the Maine Mariners advance after a 3-1 victory. The Bruins' management acknowledges the need for improvements following their loss to the Buffalo Sabres.
Fans pass a giant flag before Game 7 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series between the Boston Bruins and the Florida Panthers, Sunday, April 30, 2023, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
The Boston Bruins know what they are prioritizing this summer.
It starts with one of the things they lack, and something that ultimately cost them their first-round series against the Buffalo Sabres. The Bruins’ front office held their end-of-season press conference at the TD Garden yesterday, and while Charlie Jacobs was happy with the state of the team, Don Sweeney and Cam Neely know there is work to be done.
In the minor leagues, the Providence Bruins have their backs up against the wall tonight as they fight to force a winner-take-all Game 5. The Maine Mariners are moving on to the second round after a 3-1 win last night, avoiding a blown 3-1 series lead.
Elsewhere around the league, the Sabres opened their second-round series with a win, and the Ducks picked up a road win and evened their Round 2 matchup with the Golden Knights. Trade talks have started in New Jersey, but not for a specific player, but for another valuable asset. The NHL also announced the three finalists for the Selke.
And details of the 2026-27 salary cap were officially communicated to the teams yesterday.
Happy Thursday, catch up on Bruins and league news in today’s Daily Bean:
: Bruins alternate governor/CEO Charlie Jacobs, president Cam Neely, and general manager Don Sweeney met with the media for the end-of-season press conference yesterday. Sweeney and Neely made clear one thing: they are looking for speed and skill.
The Boston Bruins are facing elimination in their playoff series against the Florida Panthers.
The Maine Mariners won 3-1, allowing them to advance to the second round of the playoffs.
Bruins' management expressed satisfaction with the team's state but acknowledged that there is work to be done for improvement.
The Bruins lost to the Buffalo Sabres in the first round of the playoffs.
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Cam Neely also said that the Bruins did not have a 1C.
If you want more from the press conference, check out my 𝕏 feed for some more clips and quotes. There will also be more Boston Hockey Now coverage from yesterday.
WICKED BOSTON SHOW (via YouTube): I joined good friend Cam Stuart yesterday before the press conference to talk about the draft lottery, the 2027 vs. 2028 pick conditions, what the Bruins will do with the pick, and a long-shot trade target.
PROVIDENCE: The P-Bruins, the AHL’s best team, are facing elimination tonight against the Springfield Thunderbirds (STL). They dropped Game 3 in overtime on Tuesday night, and they will look to save their season at the MassMutual Center tonight.
The game gets underway at 7:05 PM today and can be streamed on FloHockey.tv.
ICYMI: After Game 3, Darren Dreger worked for an explanation on the overtime winner, and the AHL determined Zach Dean’s game-winner to be offside. The league is adopting a review process next season.
MAINE: The Maine Mariners are off to Round 2! They avoided blowing a 3-1 series lead and beat the Adirondack Thunder (NJD) in seven games. Nick Anderson scored the game-winning goal with 3:50 to play in the third period, and Shawn Element scored the empty-netter in a 3-1 win.
Maine Mariners (video via YouTube): Here are the Game 7 highlights.
They will play the Wheeling Nailers (PIT) in the North Division Finals.
Montreal Hockey Now: The Buffalo Sabres opened the second round with a Game 1 home win over the Montreal Canadiens last night. The Sabres scored four goals on 16 shots, only recording one in the third period as Montreal pushed to climb back from a two-goal deficit.
BarDown (video via 𝕏): Ahead of the game, Lindy Ruff cracked a joke about Marco Sturm’s “bigger, stronger, and more physical” comments when asked if the Sabres have a physical advantage over the Canadiens.
NHL.com: The Ducks picked up a 3-1 win on the road last night in Las Vegas, led by a 21-save performance from Lukas Dostal and goals from Beckett Sennecke, Leo Carlsson, and Jansen Harkins’ empty-netter.
Mark Stone scored with 5.6 seconds left to snap Dostal’s shutout; the Ducks have not recorded one this season.
PLAYOFFS:
New Jersey Hockey Now: The New Jersey Devils are selecting with the 12th overall pick at the 2026 draft in Buffalo. James Nichols writes that the “Devils should aggressively trade” the pick, especially now that they did not move up in the lottery.
ESPN: The NHL salary cap is officially jumping to $104 million, the league informed teams of cap floors and maximum salaries yesterday. It will be a jump of $8.5 million, and the Bruins are projected to have $16,439,167 of cap space.
The $104 million has been known; the details were communicated to teams yesterday.
NHL.com: Anthony Cirelli (TBL), Brock Nelson (COL), and Nick Suzuki (MTL) were named finalists for the Selke Award yesterday, given to the “forward voted best to excel in the defensive aspects of the game.”
Aleksander Barkov (FLA) has won the award in the last two seasons. He did not play this year due to an ACL and MCL injury.
Hurricanes at Flyers, Game 3 – 8:00 PM (US: TNT, HBO; CA: CBC, SN, TVA)
The post Daily Bean: P-Bruins Facing Elimination, Mariners Advance, Salary Cap Officially Set appeared first on Boston Hockey Now.