Boston Bruins become fastest team in NHL history to reach 50-wins

The Boston Bruins have become the fastest team in National Hockey League history to reach 50 wins. The milestone was recorded Saturday when the Bruins beat the Detroit Red Wings 5-3.

The Bruins completed the milestone in just 64 games, beating out the previous record holder who just so happened to be the Red Wings who set the record of 50 wins in 66 games during the 1996-97 season. That record was matched by the 2018-19 Tampa Bay Lightning. Already, the Bruins became the fastest team to reach the 100-point mark, and after tonight’s remaining games, they could be the first team to clinch a birth in the Stanley Cup playoffs. 

Defenseman Hampus Lindholm and captain Patrice Bergeron helped the Bruins comeback from a two-goal deficit that was put up early in the first period by Red Wins’ Dylan Larkin and Alex Chiasson. Newcomer Garnet Hathaway notched the game-winner and picked up his first goal as a member of the Bruins and 10th of the season since being acquired via trade from the Washington Capitals alongside Dmitry Orlov. Linus Ullmark picked up 30 saves on the night for his thirty-third win of the season. Ullmark has a record of 33-4-1, to go along with 1.89 goals against average and a .938 save percentage. 

Ullmark spoke to the media in a post-game press conference about the milestone and wanting to bounce back after having their 10-game winning streak snapped by the Edmonton Oilers. “We never want to lose two in a row. We showed that today,” Ullmark said. “We came out a little slow. They came out hot as well. Give them credit, they really came here to play in that first period and we were just weren’t ready for it. But we took a breather in between the first and second, and we told each other we’ve got to ramp it up a little bit. And then we absolutely dominated them in the second.”

The Bruins are now an astonishing 50-9-5 this season and have already claimed the President’s Trophy. The club is on back-to-backs and will play the Red Wings tomorrow in Detroit.