Bruins head home for the summer after missing playoffs for the first time since 2016

BOSTON (AP) — The Boston Bruins didn’t even bother teasing their fans with a spectacular regular season before heading home for the summer this time.

The Bruins finished with a 5-4 overtime loss to the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday night, wrapping up a lost season in which they missed the playoffs for the first time since 2016 and posted their first losing record since 2007.

“I’m sad it’s over, obviously. That’s pretty much the only answer I can give you right now,” forward David Pastrnak said. “It’s tough. Obviously want to keep playing. And I’ll leave it at that, I guess.”

The Bruins had topped 100 points in each of the six previous non-pandemic years, including a record-setting 135-point 2022-23 campaign that was the best regular season in NHL history. But since losing in the 2019 Stanley Cup Final, they haven’t made it past the second round of the playoffs; they have won only one series in the last four years.

That led to the firing of first Bruce Cassidy, and then Jim Montgomery, who was let go 20 games into this season and replaced with Joe Sacco. But the interim coach could only manage a 25-30-7 record the rest of the way — last in the Atlantic Division, and no better than tied for last in the whole Eastern Conference.

Sacco, who is not expected to return, was hobbled by a trade deadline surrender that purged captain Brad Marchand and a handful of other players from the roster. He said he hadn’t had a chance to look back on a season that changed dramatically just six weeks in.

“It’s been pretty busy since the change,” said the 56-year-old suburban Boston native, who played at Boston University before a 13-year NHL career.

“It’s special to be able to coach obviously in your hometown. That’s obviously an added bonus,” Sacco said. “I’ll think more about it as the days go on. But I’m proud of the guys. I know there’s been a lot of moving parts this year and they haven’t quit — right to the end.”

Pastrnak led the team with 43 goals and 63 assists, and his 106 points were nearly twice as many as his nearest teammate. With Charlie McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm injured, there wasn’t much help on defense.

And Jeremy Swayman struggled after signing an eight-year, $66 million contract and ending his holdout two days before the season opener.

“The major takeaway is just finding a way to win. And no matter how we do it, we have to compete every single day,” Swayman said. “We’re a proud program. And we owe it to ourselves — really to our fans — to be a lot better. And I’m excited for for the comeback.”

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Boston Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman watches a shot go wide of the net in the second period of an NHL hockey game against the New Jersey Devils, Tuesday, April 8, 2025, in Newark, N.J. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

Boston Bruins center Fraser Minten (93) celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal in the third period of an NHL hockey game against the New Jersey Devils Tuesday, April 8, 2025, in Newark, N.J. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

Boston Bruins' Elias Lindholm (28) celebrates his goal with David Pastrnak (88) and Henri Jokiharju during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Pittsburgh, Sunday, April 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Boston Bruins goaltender Joonas Korpisalo (70) tries to control a rebound during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Pittsburgh, Sunday, April 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Boston Bruins interim head coach Joe Sacco gives instructions from behind his bench during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Pittsburgh, Sunday, April 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Huge crowds flocked to the area outside Bangladesh’s national parliament building in the capital Wednesday to attend the funeral prayers for former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia , who died a day earlier at the age of 80 after a prolonged illness.

Waves of people from Dhaka and elsewhere had been streaming in toward the venue on Manik Mia Avenue, outside the parliament building, since early morning. Witnesses said many cried, calling Zia their “mother” as they arrived at the venue, with some traveling overnight from rural areas to join the prayers. In neighborhoods kilometers (miles) away, crowds also spilled into major streets to pray.

Zia’s funerals were expected to draw hundreds of thousands of her supporters and people from across the country while dignitaries from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Nepal also arrived in Dhaka, with local media saying foreign envoys and representatives from 32 countries joined the funeral ceremony. She will be buried beside the grave of her husband, a former president who was assassinated in a military coup in 1981, in a park outside the parliament building later Wednesday.

Zia came to politics after her husband’s death and rose to prominence as an opposition leader during a nine-year movement against a former military dictator who was ousted in a mass uprising in 1990. Zia became prime minister for the first time in 1991, with a landslide victory in a democratically held national election as the country introduced parliamentary democracy. She was the leader of her Bangladesh Nationalist Party till her death.

Zia, who was known for having a calm demeanor, maintained a strong political rivalry with her archrival and former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Hasina, who heads the Bangladesh Awami League party, ruled the country for 15 years before she was ousted in 2024 in a mass uprising.

Zia's coffin, draped in Bangladesh’s national flag, was carried in a van escorted by security officials and party supporters from the hospital to her residence and then to the funeral venue.

Authorities said about 10,000 security officials including soldiers would be deployed around the venue to maintain order on Wednesday.

Bangladesh’s interim government headed by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus announced a three-day mourning and declared Wednesday a public holiday to facilitate the funerals. Flags were kept at half-staff Wednesday across the country to show respect to Zia, the country’s first female prime minister who served two full terms and another brief term.

Zia’s eldest son, Tarique Rahman, is the acting head of her Bangladesh Nationalist Party, which is the front-runner in the nation’s next elections in February.

Hasina, who has been in exile in India since Aug. 5, 2024, was sentenced to death in November on charges of crimes against humanity involving last year’s uprising.

FILE - Bangladesh's main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party chief and former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia looks upwards as she attends a rally of her supporters outside their party headquarters in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Monday, March 12, 2012. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi, File)

FILE - Khaleda Zia takes an oath of office as the prime minister in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Oct. 10, 2001. (AP Photo/Pavel Rahman, File)

FILE - Bangladesh's former prime minister and Bangladesh Nationalist Party leader Khaleda Zia, center, leaves court after a hearing in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Aug. 10, 2016. (AP Photo, File)