The 2008–09 Boston Bruins season was the Bruins' 85th season in the National Hockey League (NHL). Their regular season began on the road on October 9, 2008, in Denver versus the Colorado Avalanche and concluded on April 12, 2009, against the New York Islanders. The Bruins looked to improve upon the accomplishments of the 2007–08 season, which included Boston's return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since the 2003–04 season.
Marc Savard again led the team in scoring for the regular season, his 88 points good for ninth in the league. Tim Thomas led all goaltenders in both save percentage and goals against at season's end, while sophomore sensation David Krejci led the league in plus-minus, narrowly beating out rookie teammate Blake Wheeler.
The Bruins claimed their first division title since 2004 and clinched top seed in the East for the first time since 2002.
Season events
Arguably the two biggest events to occur during the Bruins' off-season were the acquisition of Montreal Canadiens forward Michael Ryder, a noted 30-goal scorer, and Blake Wheeler, a promising 21-year-old from the University of Minnesota. Twelve-year veteran Stephane Yelle was another strong addition to the roster. Added to a line-up featuring young stars such as Phil Kessel and Milan Lucic, the return of Patrice Bergeron, the improved goaltending of veteran Tim Thomas and coming off the back of an impressive post-season, expectations were high for the team.
Preseason
The Bruins pre-season saw the team compete in eight games over a two-week period. The team played two games each against the Montreal Canadiens, the New York Islanders, the Washington Capitals and the defending Stanley Cup champions, the Detroit Red Wings. Boston maintained a 3–4–1 record through the pre-season with victories against the Canadiens, Capitals and Red Wings, including an impressive 8–3 victory over arch-rivals Montreal in their first match-up.
October
On October 9, the Bruins opened their regular season against the Colorado Avalanche, at the Pepsi Center. The Bruins notched a 5–4 victory and celebrated the return of centre Patrice Bergeron, playing his first NHL game in almost a year, while Blake Wheeler scored his first NHL goal on debut. The team would go on to lose its next two games, including a shootout loss to their rivals, the Montreal Canadiens.
The Bruins home opener took place on October 20, with the team suffering another shootout defeat, this time to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Boston secured its first home victory of the season on October 25, against the Atlanta Thrashers in what proved to be a memorable game, with the teams switching ends at the first stoppage in play after the 10-minute mark of the period due to incorrect markings on the West End (visitors bench side) of the TD Banknorth Garden ice. Winger Milan Lucic recorded his first NHL hat trick in the game, also adding an assist in the 5–4 victory.
On October 27, in Edmonton in overtime and October 28 in Vancouver, Tim Thomas became the first Boston goaltender with consecutive shutouts since April 3–5, 1999 (Byron Dafoe), and only the second goaltender in NHL history to record consecutive 1–0 shutouts on the road (Florida's Craig Anderson, March 2–4, 2008).
The Bruins ended October with a loss to the Calgary Flames on the road, and finished the month with a 5–3–3 record.
November–December
The Bruins opened the month of November with a 5–1 victory at home, in what proved to be a particularly physical match against the Dallas Stars. The game would prove a turning point for the team, with many players citing it as the catalyst that would see the team go on to win their next 12 games at home. One of those wins was a convincing 6–1 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on November 13. This would spark a winning streak against the Canadiens similar to that of the streak that Montreal had against the Bruins in the previous season.
On November 6, in a 5–2 victory against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Blake Wheeler recorded his first NHL hat trick, while Captain Zdeno Chara celebrated his 700th NHL game. In the return leg, on November 17, Matt Hunwick scored his first NHL goal as the Bruins once again defeated the Maple Leafs. Two days later, Marc Savard would secure his 600th NHL point with a goal and three assists in the Bruins' 7–4 win against the Buffalo Sabres. On December 18, centre David Krejci recorded his first NHL hat trick in an 8–5 win against Toronto. Phil Kessel also scored two goals in the match, his second bringing up his 100th career point.