It is time to start paying real attention to the Boston Bruins

The Eastern Conference playoffs are setting up to be incredible. Every team in the Conference looks like it has the potential to go on a run, nobody should be considered a clear favorite in any potential opening round matchup, and seven of the eight playoff teams currently sit among the top-10 of the league standings by points percentage (Washington, at .621, is 12th in the NHL).

For most of the season the same teams have been getting the bulk of the attention, while everybody has their own storyline. Carolina might be the most complete team. Florida is the most exciting team. Tampa Bay is the reigning (back-to-back) champions. Toronto is the team that just naturally lives in the spotlight. Pittsburgh and Washington still have their hockey legends doing what they have done for the past decade-and-a-half. New York has a potential MVP and is the team on the rise.

The team that keeps sliding unnoticed under the radar? The old reliable Boston Bruins. They entered the season with what looked to be — on paper — their most flawed roster in years with some fairly significant question marks, especially given the departure of David Krejci and the eventual retirement of long-time franchise goalie Tuukka Rask.

As the regular season enters the stretch run the Bruins are one of the hottest teams in the league with everything starting to come together for them at just the exact right time.

They were 6-3 winners over the New York Islanders on Saturday afternoon, improving them to 14-2-1 over their past 17 games and helping them climb into the top-three of the Atlantic Division. Since January 1 they are 27-9-1, a .731 points percentage that is the third-best mark in the league during that stretch behind only the Colorado Avalanche and