I don't see the Bruins falling out of the Wild Card very easily at all. Those two losing streaks killed our chances and I figure if Boston keeps up their winning streak, it's going to require 97-98 points to get in.
Nevertheless, I figure we'll finish around 88-90 points and that is a big increase compared to last year's 66 points. Overall, while I'd be disappointed that we didn't make the playoffs after getting so close, I'm happy with the improvement.
I believe our biggest hole is on offense and especially at Wing. I think Tallon completely knows that and will try his best to do what it takes this offseason to help that issue.
I compare our team to the Blackhawks starting in 06-07 where they finished with 71 points. That is similar to our last season. In 07-08, they finished with 88 points and just missed out on the playoffs. That's where I put this season for us. In the next two seasons, in 08-09 they finished with 104 points, and as you all know won the Cup in 09-10 where they finished with 112 points. I'm hoping that we can on that same path with points increase.
This isn't like 11-12 or 08-09 where we had a good, but not great team. There were too many holes for the future and we saw what happened in the seasons afterward. Now, we have a prospect pool like we've never had before and owners for the first time that I can remember that give a damn about the team's future and fanbase and most importantly have money. I know we'll all be bummed a bit if we're on the outside looking in, but I feel like very good things are coming very soon for this team.