Who will the Bruins play in the 2017 playoffs?

The Bruins have clinched a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs and will be playing...somebody... in the first round. Who will it be?

Well, that’s a good question. There are a couple scenarios. The Bruins are in third in the Flortheast right now, but can trade places with Ottawa or Toronto for second in the Flortheast or as Wildcard 2 aka “sacrificial lamb to Washington (or maybe Pittsburgh if Washington suddenly sucks for a week)”

The biggest game to determine seeding for the Bruins is Thursday against Ottawa. It’s a 4-point game, so we’ll see. Anyways, here’s how the Bruins chances shake out.

Thursday’s game is huge

Seriously, it’s the biggest decider of seeding. It’s the only 4-point game left on the schedule. If the Bruins win, they have a good chance of getting out of the wildcard and playing either Toronto or Ottawa or maybe, if some magic really happens, the Lightning. Neither Ontario team has actually clinched yet, though if either or both of those teams make it in the Bruins would be seeded higher.

Losing to Ottawa all but guarantees a lack of home ice advantage to start the playoffs. To catch Ottawa at that point, the Bruins would have to win against Washington and the Senators would have to lose bad to both New York teams.

Toronto, on the other hand, is playing Pittsburgh and Columbus to finish out the season, so good luck to them to navigate that mess. Toronto’s best bet is to beat Tampa Bay on Tuesday and then hope they weather the storm okay.

And now, a table showing all of that: