To the delight of hockey fans everywhere, the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs have finally arrived. Although 16 teams remain in the hunt for the greatest trophy in sports, there is a clear favorite among them. Of course, that team is none other than the Boston Bruins, fresh off a historic regular season.

Boston just had the greatest regular season in NHL history and that isn't an exaggeration. The Bruins set league records with 65 wins, beating the 62 wins by the 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings and 2018-19 Tampa Bay Lightning, and 135 points, beating the 132 points by the 1976-77 Montreal Canadiens. Before the season, many expected the Bruins to finally fall out of the playoffs, and instead, they ascend to another plane entirely.

After such a historically great season, it's Stanley Cup or bust for Beantown. It comes as no surprise that the Bruins have by far the best odds to win the Eastern Conference at +200 and the Stanley Cup at +340.

There's no question that the Bruins can win the Stanley Cup, the question is, will they? Without further ado, let's go over three reasons why Boston will cap off its historic season with a championship.

3. Veteran leadership

Experience matters in the NHL, and it matters a lot. Having veteran players who can lead a team in the postseason can often be the difference between winning it all and coming up short. Fortunately for the Bruins, they have that kind of leadership in spades.

Boston last won the Stanley Cup in 2011, so most players from that team have long since moved on. However, three of their most important players in Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci, and Brad Marchand are still around. Bergeron has long been one of the most respected captains in the league, consistently garnering praise for his ability to lead. The same goes for Krejci and Marchand, two of the best alternate captains in the league.

There are also other leaders on the team, like 2018 Stanley Cup champion Dmitry Orlov and longtime Columbus Blue Jackets captain Nick Foligno, although the latter is dealing with injury. Also, consider that this may be Bergeron and Krejci's last ride before retiring. If this truly is the end for them, they and the Bruins will do everything they can to send them out on top.

2. Ability to roll all four lines

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Having star power in the playoffs is important, but what might be even more important is having quality depth. Fortunately for the Bruins, they have an abundance of both in their forward core.

Of course, there are the stars everyone knows like Bergeron, Krejci, Marchand, and 61-goal scorer David Pastrnak. There are also players like Jake DeBrusk, Charlie Coyle, trade deadline pickup Tyler Bertuzzi and Taylor Hall, who is returning from injury. These players aren't quite superstars but still have a good scoring touch. Even fourth-liners Trent Frederic, Garnet Hathaway, and Tomas Nosek can score some points when needed. That's not even getting into these players' two-way games, which most of them are great at.

Even just from a scoring perspective, this depth makes the Bruins so formidable. Even if a team tries to shut down its top line, the other three can still cause a ton of problems. Any team hoping to beat the Bruins will have to have comparable depth, and it's hard to find a team that has it.

1. Outstanding defense and goaltending

Even with the incredible depth up front, Boston's depth on the blue line and in net is even more impressive.

The Bruins have the best defense corps in the league, and it may not be close. Charlie McAvoy, Hampus Lindholm and Brandon Carlo were already an elite trio, and adding Orlov at the deadline only bolstered the top four. The third pairing of Derek Forbort and Connor Clifton is also very solid and could be a second pairing for some teams. When a defenseman is as good as Matt Grzelcyk has been an occasional healthy scratch, that says a lot.

What might be even more impressive is the Bruins' outstanding goalie duo. Linus Ullmark had a historic season for a goalie, leading the league with a .938 save percentage and 1.89 GAA. Not to be outdone, Jeremy Swayman ranks fifth in save percentage at .920 and fourth in GAA at 2.27. No matter which goalie is in between the pipes, opponents will have a difficult time trying to get pucks past them.

If the old adage of “defense wins championships” holds true, the Bruins will be hoisting the Stanley Cup in June.