2008–09 Boston Bruins season
Their regular season began on the road on October 9, 2008, in Denver versus the Colorado Avalanche and concluded on April 12, 2009, against the New York Islanders.
Arguably the two biggest events to occur during the Bruins' off-season were the acquisition of Montreal Canadiens forward Michael Ryder,[2] a noted 30-goal scorer, and Blake Wheeler, a promising 21-year-old from the University of Minnesota.
[4] Added to a line-up featuring young stars such as Phil Kessel and Milan Lucic, the return of Patrice Bergeron, the improved goaltending of veteran Tim Thomas and coming off the back of an impressive post-season, expectations were high for the team.
The team played two games each against the Montreal Canadiens, the New York Islanders, the Washington Capitals and the defending Stanley Cup champions, the Detroit Red Wings.
[22] The biggest concern during this period was the loss of forward Patrice Bergeron, the young centre sustaining his second concussion in 14 months, after a heavy collision with the Carolina Hurricanes' Dennis Seidenberg.
[25] The victory, their 10th in a row and 14th-straight at home, secured the team's longest streak since March 9–28, 1973, and catapulted the Bruins to the top spot in the NHL with 62 points, one more than the San Jose Sharks.
[27][28] On January 13, Marco Sturm was lost for the season after undergoing surgery for an injury incurred on December 18 against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
[29][30] On January 27, Patrice Bergeron would make his second return from concussion in as many seasons, tallying an assist in the Bruins 3–2 overtime victory against the Washington Capitals.
[32] Three Bruins were assigned to the Eastern Conference for the 57th National Hockey League All-Star Game, with Zdeno Chara, Marc Savard and Tim Thomas all representing Boston as reserves.
[34] Over the course of the weekend, Blake Wheeler was named MVP of the YoungStars game with a four-goal performance,[35] Zdeno Chara recorded the hardest ever shot (105.4 mph) in the SuperSkills Competition,[36] while Chara, Savard and Thomas celebrated victory in the All-Star Game, with Savard tallying three assists while Thomas was awarded the win for his efforts in both the overtime and shootout periods.
[41] On April 2, against the Ottawa Senators, Boston recorded their 50th win for the season, the eighth time in franchise history and first since 1992–93 that the mark had been achieved.
In Game 2, Marc Savard had two goals and an assist, while Chuck Kobasew, Shane Hnidy – named as a replacement for the injured Matt Hunwick[47][48] – and Michael Ryder also scored as the Bruins won 5–1.
They completed the sweep by winning Game 4, Michael Ryder posting two goals and an assist in the 4–1 victory as the Bruins advanced to the semi-finals for the first time since the 1998–99 season.
The Bruins extended their 5-game winning streak with a 4–1 victory in Game 1, but Carolina stormed back on the strength of an aggressive forecheck and excellent goaltending from Cam Ward.
Boston recovered for consecutive wins to push the series to a pivotal seventh game, but the Hurricanes prevailed in overtime of the final contest.
The series-winning goal was scored by Scott Walker, who earlier in the series had avoided punishment for an undefended punch to the face of former Hurricane Aaron Ward.
