Bruins clinch 1st playoff spot in 3 seasons with win over Lightning

For the first time since the 2013-14 season, the Boston Bruins have booked their ticket to the Stanley Cup Playoffs, courtesy of a 4-0 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday.

This most recent victory - Boston's sixth in a row - improved the Bruins' record to 18-7-0 since the decision was made to fire Claude Julien in favor of interim bench boss Bruce Cassidy, who's made a good case to have that tag removed sooner rather than later.

The Bruins, however, were forced to play 40-plus minutes without leading scorer Brad Marchand, who was ejected near the end of the first period for spearing Jake Dotchin.

Boston last advanced to the postseason as Presidents' Trophy winners in 2014. But they missed out on the postseason by two points in 2015, and came up short again last season after finishing level in points with Detroit but losing the tiebreaker.

What's yet to be determined is whether Boston will secure an Atlantic Division spot or fall to the second wild card. The former would mean a first-round date with Toronto or Ottawa, while the latter would set up a date with the top team in the Metropolitan Division, which will likely be Washington.

Either way, the Bruins will certainly be among the final 16.

As for the Lightning, they're still technically in the race, but their chances took a massive hit with this loss.