If the 2024-25 NHL regular season ended today, the Boston Bruins would be in the playoffs.

As of Sunday evening, Boston currently sits in first Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference — with Saturday’s 3-1 win over the Avalanche pushing the Bruins to 5-1-1 in their last seven games.

But even with this recent resurgence, months of middling play has left Joe Sacco’s squad with little margin for error.

Even with their current playoff position, MoneyPuck has Boston tabbed with just a 38.9 percent chance of playing postseason hockey on Causeway Street this April.

A crowded playoff field in the Eastern Conference — coupled with many of those teams operating with multiple games in hand against Boston — has the Bruins operating on unsteady ground. 

Even after an encouraging 6-2 win over the Lightning on Jan. 14, Boston’s inconsistent showing amid a daunting playoff gauntlet prompted Cam Neely to acknowledge that a franchise once bracing for a deep run might have to stare at “two paths” before the trade deadline — accepting a reality where Boston opts to retool instead of steel itself for playoff hockey in 2025.

It was an acceptance of the situation that the Bruins have put themselves in through the first four months of the season — as well as a challenge to a locker room that could look very different in a few weeks if Boston’s playoff hopes dwindle. 

It was a message that defenseman Nikita Zadorov heard loud and clear.

“We were desperate,” Zadorov said of Boston’s mentality on Saturday against Colorado. “We know our desperation level has got to be higher than other teams, because of where we are in the standings. There’s a lot of teams in the East pushing for a playoff spot. 

“We see the message from the management as well. We’ve got, what, 12,13 games before March 7 [trade deadline]? And we’ve got, what, six games left before the [4 Nations Face-Off] break? We’ve got to put ourselves in a good place in the standings to get a green light, I guess.”

Even if Boston stabilizes its play and more lineup regulars either return from injury or start burying chances, the Bruins’ have put themselves in a position where each of their remaining 31 games will require white-knuckle execution and plenty of glances at the standings. 

It’s a departure from the last few seasons, where the Bruins have comfortably carved out a place in one of the top three spots in the Atlantic Division thanks to some scorching starts. 

But it’s also an extended wave of adversity that — while largely self-inflicted — could benefit a Bruins team that has heard plenty of the whispers about a potential retool in the coming months. 

“There’s an endless belief in this room,” Jeremy Swayman — now up to a .918 save percentage in his last 10 games— said of his teammates. “No matter what we’ve been through, I know that we’ve always had a belief in each other, and knowing that every one of us can step up at different times.

“Every game, even if it hasn’t gone our way, guys have stepped up and really grown their game in the right direction. I think that’s a huge testament to our group and what kind of individuals we have in here to not let the adversity of results dictate how we play and how we approach the game every day.”

Even if Boston has seemingly righted the ship after an ugly six-game losing skid earlier this month, this roster — at least as currently constituted — doesn’t inspire plenty of confidence for a long playoff run. 

The Bruins rank 25th in the NHL in goals per game (2.73), and 20th in the NHL in goals allowed per contest (3.10). Brutal special-teams play has further hindered Boston, with the Bruins 31st in the NHL on the power play (13.4 percent) and 25th on the penalty kill (76.0 percent).

As of Sunday evening, the Bruins are one of just two teams currently in the playoff picture operating with a negative goal differential.

The Calgary Flames are clinging to the final Wild Card spot in the Western Conference with a -8 goal differential. The Bruins? An ugly -20 goal differential — tied for the third-worst showing in the entire Eastern Conference. 

Even with the return of Charlie McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm from injury — coupled with the strong play of Swayman and David Pastrnak (22 points in his last 12 games) — the Bruins have several holes in their depth chart that need to be addressed. 

The odds aren’t necessarily favoring the Bruins’ playoff hopes right now. 

But unlike Neely’s ominous comments, Zadorov and his teammates aren’t heeding any talk about their slim chances within the playoff picture. 

“I mean, you gotta face the reality once in a while, right? You can’t be putting it in the back pocket all the time and say, ‘Oh, let’s just focus on the day by day,’” Zadorov said of playing with pressure each night. “I mean, you still look at the big picture. I mean, I’m not planning to miss the playoffs. That’s why I’m here. 

“I’m here to play in the playoffs. I want to see Boston Garden buzzing. So I think that’s definitely extra motivation for us.  I mean, you guys are doing a good job of writing us off, so I think that’s additional motivation as well for this group. Because we got a lot of characters. We got a lot of people who want to compete and play in the big stages. So I think that’s our mindset every day.”