Players of the Boston Bruins celebrate their 5-2 win over the Washington Capitals at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, April 11, 2023. /CFP
The Boston Bruins had an extra reason to celebrate their 5-2 win over the Washington Capitals at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, on Tuesday: They set the new National Hockey League (NHL) single-season points record by scoring their 133rd point of the 2022-23 season.
The Bruins broke the previous record set by the Montreal Canadiens during the 1976-77 campaign. They established an early 2-0 lead after Brad Marchand and Tyler Bertuzzi scored two goals in the second period. Then Tomas Nosek, Garnet Hathaway and Jake DeBrusk scored another three goals to seal the deal for the team in the third period.
Having secured their 64th win on Tuesday, the Bruins further extended the single-season wins record they had set by beating the Philadelphia Flyers on April 9. Meanwhile, the team's goalie, Linus Ullmark, became the second one in his position to secure 40 wins in one season in franchise history – Pete Peeters was the first to do it, having reached the landmark during the 1982-83 season.
Tomas Nosek (#92) of the Boston Bruins skates in the game against the Washington Capitals at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, April 11, 2023. /CFP
The last time an NHL team held both single-season records in points and wins was the Detroit Red Wings in the 1995-96 campaign, according to ESPN Stats and Info. The Red Wings also won the Presidents' Trophy in that season. So did the Bruins this season.
"If we don't go all the way, it means nothing," Nosek said after Tuesday's victory. "But I know when you get older, probably, and you realize we are something special for sure, I'll recognize it more as time goes on. Not right now."
"It's something we're proud of. We did set our sights on it the last little while where we locked up first. We needed something to play for the remainder of the regular season. It's a goal we wanted to accomplish. It's not our be-all or end-all. It's an incredible accomplishment," Marchand said.
Goalie Linus Ullmark of the Boston Bruins looks on in the game against the Washington Capitals at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, April 11, 2023. /CFP
"We're happy about it right now, don't get me wrong. But it's a regular-season record. Playoffs start and everything starts all over again. There's going to be 16 teams that have the same goal in mind. What we've accomplished so far has no bearing on that," he added.
The Stanley Cup playoffs will begin on April 17. The Red Wings, it must be noted, didn't win the Stanley Cup in their double-record season. The last time the Bruins reached the Stanley Cup Finals was in 2019 and the last time they won that title was in 2011.