2008 – 09 Boston Bruins season The 2008 – 09 Boston Bruins season is the Bruins ' 84th season in the National Hockey League ( NHL ) . 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 . The Bruins looked to improve upon the accomplishments of the 2007 – 08 season , which included Boston ' s return to the NHL playoffs for the first time since the 2003 – 04 season . Marc Savard again led the team in scoring for the regular season , his 88 points good for ninth in the league . Tim Thomas led all goaltenders in both save percentage and goals against at season ' s end , while sophomore sensation David Krejci took home the League ' s Plus - Minus award , narrowly beating out rookie team - mate Blake Wheeler . The Bruins claimed their first division title since 2004 and clinched top seed in the East for the first time since 2002 . Season events . Arguably the two biggest events to occur during the Bruins ' offseason were the acquisition of Canadiens forward Michael Ryder , a noted 30 goal scorer , and Blake Wheeler , a promising 21 - year - old from the University of Minnesota . 12 - year veteran Stephane Yelle was another strong addition to the roster . 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 postseason , expectations were high for the team . Pre - season . The Bruins pre - season saw the team compete in eight games over a two - week period . The team played two games each against the Montreal Canadiens , the New York Islanders , the Washington Capitals , and defending Stanley Cup champions , the Detroit Red Wings . Boston maintained a 3 – 4 – 1 record through the pre - season with victories against the Habs , Caps and Wings , including an impressive 8 – 3 victory over arch - rivals Montreal in their first match - up . October . On October 9 , the Bruins opened their regular season against the Colorado Avalanche , at the Pepsi Center . The Bruins notched a 5 – 4 victory and celebrated the return of centre Patrice Bergeron , playing his first NHL game in almost a year , while Blake Wheeler scored his first NHL goal on debut . The team would go on to lose its next two games , including a shootout loss to rivals , the Montreal Canadiens . The Bruins home opener took place on October 20 , with the team suffering another shootout defeat , this time to the Pittsburgh Penguins . Boston secured its first home victory of the season on October 25 , against the Atlanta Thrashers in what proved to be a memorable game , with the teams switching ends at the first stoppage in play after the 10 - minute mark of the period due to incorrect markings on the West End ( visitors bench side ) of the TD Banknorth Garden Ice . Winger Milan Lucic recorded his first NHL hat trick in the game , also adding an assist in the 5 – 4 victory . On October 27 , in Edmonton in overtime and Oct . 28 in Vancouver , Tim Thomas became the first Boston goaltender with consecutive shutouts since April 3 – 5 , 1999 ( Byron Dafoe ) and only the second goaltender in NHL history to record consecutive 1 – 0 shutouts on the road ( Florida ' s Craig Anderson , March 2 – 4 , 2008 ) . The Bruins ended October with a loss to Calgary on the road , and finished the month with a 5 – 3 – 3 record . November – December . The Bruins opened the month of November with a 5 – 1 victory at home , in what proved to be a particularly physical match against the Dallas Stars . The game would prove a turning point for the team , with many players citing it as the catalyst that would see the team go on to win their next 12 games at home . One of those wins was a convincing 6 - 1 victory over the team ' s hated rivals , the Montreal Canadiens on November 13 . This would spark a winning streak against the Canadiens similar to that of the streak that Montreal had against the Bruins in the previous season . On November 6 , in a 5 – 2 victory against the Toronto Maple Leafs , Blake Wheeler recorded his first NHL hat trick , while Captain Zdeno Chara celebrated his 700th NHL game . In the return leg , on November 17 , Matt Hunwick scored his 1st NHL goal as the Bruins once again defeated the Leafs . Two days later , Marc Savard would secure his 600th NHL point with a goal and 3 assists in the Bruins 7 – 4 win against the Buffalo Sabres . On December 18 , centre David Krejci recorded his first NHL hat trick in an 8 – 5 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs . Phil Kessel also scored two goals in the match , his second bringing up his 100th career point . Boston finished the month of November with an 11 – 1 – 1 record , including an 8 – 0 – 0 record at home . They would carry that form through the month of December , finishing with a remarkable 12 – 1 – 0 record and remaining undefeated at The Garden ( 4 – 0 – 0 ) . Phil Kessel maintained an 18 - game point streak from Nov . 13 - Dec . 21 , the longest such streak overall for the season and equalling Ed Olczyk ' s record for the longest point streak by a U . S . - born player in NHL history . 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 Carolina ' s Dennis Seidenberg . Bergeron would go on to miss the next 15 games . January . Boston would begin 2009 in the same manner with which they ended 2008 – with a victory over the defending Eastern Conference champions , the Pittsburgh Penguins . 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 San Jose . From January 12 – 29 , forward Phil Kessel was sidelined with mononucleosis . 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 . 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 . On January 31 , Tuukka Rask , recalled from the Providence Bruins , played his first game with the Bruins for the season and recorded his first NHL shutout , stopping all 35 shots in a 1 – 0 victory against the New York Rangers . All - Star weekend . 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 . Coach Claude Julien was also named as head coach ahead of Montreal counterpart Guy Carbonneau . Over the course of the weekend Blake Wheeler was named MVP of the YoungStars game with a 4 goal performance , Zdeno Chara recorded the hardest ever shot ( 105 . 4 mph ) in the SuperSkills Competition , while Chara , Savard and Thomas celebrated victory in the All - Star Game , with Savard tallying 3 assists while Thomas was awarded the win for his efforts in both the overtime and shootout periods . March . On March 4 , the Bruins acquired defenseman Steve Montador from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for forward Petteri Nokelainen . Later that day the club announced the acquisition of forward Mark Recchi and a second round draft pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft from the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for defenseman Matt Lashoff and forward Martins Karsums . Three days later , on March 7 , Recchi scored a pair of goals in his second outing for the Bruins , against the Chicago Blackhawks . The Bruins secured their second successive playoff berth on March 21 , when the Florida Panthers lost to the Columbus Blue Jackets . The following night they secured the Northeast Division title with a 4 – 1 victory against Eastern rivals the New Jersey Devils . April . On April 2 , against the Ottawa Senators , Boston recorded their 50th win for the season , the 8th time in franchise history and first since the 1992 – 1993 season that the mark had been achieved . Prior to the match David Krejci was the recipient of NESN ' s Seventh Player Award , the annual award presented to the Bruin who went above and beyond the call of duty and exceed the expectations of Bruins fans during the season . Stanley Cup Playoffs . The Bruins clinched a playoff spot for the second consecutive season , securing top seed in the Eastern Conference in the process and gaining home - ice advantage through the first three rounds . Eastern Conference Quarter - finals . Boston played the 8th - seeded Montreal Canadiens in the first round of the playoffs . Boston had previously lost to Montreal in three consecutive playoff appearances , and had not won a playoff series overall in the previous 10 seasons . The Bruins won the first game of the series 4 – 2 , with goals from Phil Kessel , David Krejci , and a powerplay winner from Zdeno Chara . In Game Two , Marc Savard had two goals and an assist , while Chuck Kobasew , Shane Hnidy – named as a replacement for the injured Matt Hunwick – and Michael Ryder also scored as the Bruins won 5 – 1 . Milan Lucic was suspended for game three after receiving a match penalty in the closing stages of game two for striking Montreal ' s Maxim Lapierre in the head with his stick . Boston then travelled to Montreal for Game Three , where they secured another 4 – 2 victory with goals by Kessel , Ryder , Kobasew , and Shawn Thornton . They completed the sweep by winning Game Four , 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 . This marked only the third time that Boston had swept Montreal in the playoffs in history , and the first time since 1992 . The only time Boston swept Montreal in the playoffs and closed out the series in Montreal was in 1929 , and that season , Boston went on to win the Stanley Cup . Eastern Conference Semi - finals . Boston faced the Carolina Hurricanes , a franchise which carried the legacy of Boston ' s longtime rival the Hartford Whalers . Prior to the Bruins ' first - round sweep of Montreal , their most recent playoff series victory had been against Carolina in April 1999 . 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 . Ward ' s shutout in Game 2 , and Jussi Jokinen ' s game - winning goals in the next two matches , pushed the Bruins to the brink of elimination . 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 . Walker had been due for an automatic suspension , but that penalty was overturned by the NHL after a brief meeting in which he claimed to have thought Ward was prepared to fight . Ward disputed that account and publicly reprimanded the NHL for failing to follow through with a full investigation . In addition , Walker ' s wife received a diagnosis of cervical cancer midway through the series , lending an additional element of personal drama to his performance . After the series , Walker took public responsibility for striking Ward and expressed relief that his wife ' s cancer was treatable . Awards and records . Milestones . The Bruins ' 5 - 1 win against the Carolina Hurricanes , on February 17 , 2009 , was the 200th NHL winning game coached , for current Bruins coach Claude Julien . The Bruins ' 5 - 4 overtime win against the Montreal Canadiens , on April 9 , 2009 , was the 400th NHL game coached , for current Bruins coach Claude Julien . Awards . On April 4 , prior to the game against the New York Rangers , the team announced its award winners for the season . Draft picks . Boston ' s picks at the 2008 NHL Entry Draft in Ottawa , Ontario . Johnny Boychuk was selected as a starter for Team Canada in the 2009 AHL All Star Classic . Martins Karsums was selected as a reserve for the PlanetUSA team . Both players were under two - way NHL contracts and played games with Boston during the season . In the game , Karsums , named as a late starter , scored two goals and three assists .